> I don't know what the issue with is with criticizing.
No issue, abstractly. But it seems to me that in this case, Apple is providing opportunities that many people are choosing them for themselves, opportunities that they would otherwise not have. And for the crime of not providing even better opportunities, Apple is being characterized as exploitative. That seems unreasonable and unfair.
> I'd like to read interviews of people who worked there to see if the job was what they were expecting, worse, or better.
I would too. From what I know, it's complicated, and contrary to what a lot of people would expect. For example, there really has been massive discontent at Foxconn, etc. -- because they weren't given as much overtime as promised.
Do I wish that people had better opportunities? So, so dearly. This is probably the deepest emotion/feeling I have in my life, the sense of how fortunate I have been compared to how difficult the lives of others have been, when many of them are just as smart, just as hardworking and resourceful as I am, but were simply born in circumstances that did not grant them as much opportunity as I have enjoyed. This is a big part of why I am in China and why I study Mandarin.
But saying Tim Cook earns "too much", or that factory workers are "exploited" because they make choices that we wouldn't, were we to be magically swapped into their bodies, but with our abilities, or some other imaginary situation that has never existed, is not very understanding of the situation, or fair or productive.
The key, I think, is to realize that if you were the "exploited" workers, you would make the same choices. Really. If you were them, you would do the same thing. Then I think it's more clear that Apple is providing avenues toward better lives, which I see as a very good thing.
No issue, abstractly. But it seems to me that in this case, Apple is providing opportunities that many people are choosing them for themselves, opportunities that they would otherwise not have. And for the crime of not providing even better opportunities, Apple is being characterized as exploitative. That seems unreasonable and unfair.
> I'd like to read interviews of people who worked there to see if the job was what they were expecting, worse, or better.
I would too. From what I know, it's complicated, and contrary to what a lot of people would expect. For example, there really has been massive discontent at Foxconn, etc. -- because they weren't given as much overtime as promised.
Do I wish that people had better opportunities? So, so dearly. This is probably the deepest emotion/feeling I have in my life, the sense of how fortunate I have been compared to how difficult the lives of others have been, when many of them are just as smart, just as hardworking and resourceful as I am, but were simply born in circumstances that did not grant them as much opportunity as I have enjoyed. This is a big part of why I am in China and why I study Mandarin.
But saying Tim Cook earns "too much", or that factory workers are "exploited" because they make choices that we wouldn't, were we to be magically swapped into their bodies, but with our abilities, or some other imaginary situation that has never existed, is not very understanding of the situation, or fair or productive.
The key, I think, is to realize that if you were the "exploited" workers, you would make the same choices. Really. If you were them, you would do the same thing. Then I think it's more clear that Apple is providing avenues toward better lives, which I see as a very good thing.