The China Problem (or lack thereof [which is...ummm... the real problem])

For a long time, longer than I have been alive, there has been a very simple concept spoon fed to us in the Western world... That concept is, Democracy, Fairness, and Treating your workers well will lead to economic prosperity, and Communism, lack of civil rights, and sweatshops will get you a failed economy and because of that, a failed state.

Growing up, I believed this as wholeheartedly as I believed in the divinity of Jesus Christ, I have since shed both beliefs, but I can honestly tell you that I am much more worried today about that first concept being proven untrue than I am about burning in hell for an eternity. I have dubbed this phenomenon "The China Problem" though I am sure there are plenty of magazine articles out there with that same name, I doubt they have addressed this specific concern. I also played around with calling this "The China Syndrome" but that's something I'm actually afraid of, and figured I'd be careful...

The crux of the China problem is this... If the Chinese make everything cheaper, faster, with less overhead, how long will it be until those types of practices make it to our shores, and to the shores of other industrialized western nations? How long until Americans are working in sweat shops? How long until we lose any kind of paid vacation or workers rights? It is as I see it an inevitability. Why? Because even the most stubborn of business owners, given the choice between mistreating their workers and losing their business thereby being unable to make ends meet will choose the first option, and because even the most stalwart opponent of human enslavement would rather be enslaved and chained to a sewing machine 12 hours a day and eat, than be obstinate and die. It's human nature, survival of the fittest. And when it's you on the line, you'll more than likely choose eat. I know I would.

Growing up we were given many examples, such as Cuba and the old Soviet Union to show that bad practices will lead to economic destruction... We were likewise shown examples such as Japan, where the adoption of democratic principles and worker's rights set off a chain of economic prosperity post WWII that made Japan one of the richest nations on earth for a while. When I was younger I used to go to Cuba with my grandmother during the Summers, where I would see people sitting on the street with nothing to do (no work) and block after block of empty storefronts (nothing to sell). And the lesson I always gathered from that is that Communism = Broken country. I still believe that to this day.

But China, well, China has proven all of us Commie critics wrong now haven't they... How exactly have they done this? They've adapted Communism. They've basically stopped trying to make this one world harmonious society and put the emphasis on making cash money, without any of the 'free' distractions we have in this country. In other words, they have managed to become very prosperous very quickly without any of the human rights concessions that we have made in this country.

Now, perhaps I am a bit premature... Perhaps the Chinese will fight for their rights in much the same way the industrial revolution led to massive worker uprisings and the implementation of shortened work weeks, child labor laws, and safety rules in the US and Britain. But with a population of almost 1.5 billion people it is highly unlikely, because when one quits there are ten to take their place. These types of odds do not portend much change.

I once saw a documentary several years ago about the Ericsson cell phone factory in China. The men and women were housed in separate camps (yes, they HAD to live on the grounds) and paid rent/living expenses out of their meager paychecks. It was a sort of Ponzi Indentured Servitude, where you worked and worked and your money kept disappearing to fund other new workers who then did nothing but work and work. The leftover pennies typically went home to family. One of the most heart wrenching parts of the documentary was the scene in which a woman who had gotten pregnant had to choose between having an abortion or losing her job. If the woman didn't have the abortion, there would be another in a long line of poor country folk willing to take the job, because it is a step up from selling roasted sweet potatoes on a street corner for $0.35 each.

But the true China problem is not Chinese prosperity, not by a long shot... The true China problem is American debt coupled with Chinese global dominance. Not only are they the most populous country in the world, but they have been on a land acquisition spree in Africa and the middle east, and have started to set their sights on ownership of American companies, recently acquiring Hummer from GM and more recently setting themselves up to acquire Volvo from Ford. The acquisitions *will* continue, albeit quietly and without much fanfare, but the changes, nuanced as they may be, will also be there. Warfare has changed, and some of the less boisterous nations in this world truly understand that money is power, and if money is power (which it is) China has a *lot* of power. Power over us economically as well as power over what we consider normal in our society and willingly accept. The Chinese Olympiad had Americans wearing commie symbols and colors on their breast, the new Karate Kid remake will take place in China (even though Kara-te [both the WORD and the ART] are Japanese), and we have a kids cartoon called "Ni Hao Kai Lan" on Nickelodeon that teaches kids basic Chinese.

Need a more, forgive the pun, "concrete" example?Does anyone remember the Empire State Building, bastion of old-school American ingenuity being lit up Red and Yellow for the 60th anniversary of Communist China's revolution a few months back? In case you missed it, here's a picture... (This was in late September, for those of you who like to check facts! [love you who do!]) It was lit up that way for two days... The Chinese consulate oversaw the lighting of the building, which already has a large percentage of foreign ownership.

While some may call my outlook xenophobic, I believe that to not look out for your own interests because of some sort of perceived "global society" is short-sighted and ignorant. The world is not a Coca-Cola commercial... It is very different, except for one small detail, if the Chinese get their way we'll all be seeing a lot more red.