I have to wonder what the ratio is for us transferring our bad practices to other parts of the world, to the other parts of the world playing catch up to us in the terms of the industrial revolution which saw us practice many of these same things early on.
Or the continuation of long-standing practices in these regions. Slavery, after all, long predates the Industrial Revolution. We’re more responsible for encouraging the continuation than transferring the practice.
I’m sure there’s also a large part of the western world just transferring their bad for the local environment processes to these places too. I just wonder what the ratio is.
A lot of it is that we’re willing to pay profitable prices for raw materials, which encourages dependence on primary sector activities (extraction, like agriculture and mining) which are labor intensive and very vulnerable to exploitation. A lot of these slave-labor type undertakings work in a pretty machinery-minimal way, since that’s how the value of slave labor is maximized, rather than being advanced-but-polluting.
Or the continuation of long-standing practices in these regions. Slavery, after all, long predates the Industrial Revolution. We’re more responsible for encouraging the continuation than transferring the practice.
A lot of it is that we’re willing to pay profitable prices for raw materials, which encourages dependence on primary sector activities (extraction, like agriculture and mining) which are labor intensive and very vulnerable to exploitation. A lot of these slave-labor type undertakings work in a pretty machinery-minimal way, since that’s how the value of slave labor is maximized, rather than being advanced-but-polluting.