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What you're referring to is called cultural relativism [1], and is willfully ignored in most media reports of working conditions in foreign countries.

By not providing any context to the local norms, we tend to compare conditions to our norms and see it in stark terms, while the reality is more nuanced. FoxConn's compensation and work conditions may be imperfect, but are good enough relative to local alternatives they have sufficient supply of willing workers. The "exploitation by US consumers" is an effect of globalization.

Most criticism and remediation efforts should not be directed at the various firms, but at the country that allows it to occur.

1- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_relativism




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