• Return_of_Chippy@lemmy.worldOP
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    2 days ago

    They do have famously good working conditions, high wages and quality of life. Their working class is in a meat grinder to an extent I haven’t seen anywhere else. Especially unskilled laborors.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Their working class is in a meat grinder to an extent I haven’t seen anywhere else.

      Then you really haven’t looked. Chinese working people have paid vacation and sick leave, low-cost public housing in abundance with nearly 90% of the population owning a primary residence, and retirement in the 50s for women and 60s for men. Per-capita debt is about 10% of the American population. The adult literacy rate is 98%, 20-pts higher than their American peers. Life expectancy is eclipsing the US, as theirs rises and ours falls. Instances of suicide are much lower. Incarceration rates are lower. Yadda yadda yadda.

      Now compare the Chinese working class to folks living in The Philippines or Pakistan or South Africa or Brazil. Nevermind Egypt or Russia or Qatar or - god forbid - Haiti or Palestine. It’s not even close.

    • Alcoholicorn@mander.xyz
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      2 days ago

      Their working class is in a meat grinder to an extent I haven’t seen anywhere else

      You’ve never been to a global south country I take it?

      China has a lot further to go to reach parity with the first world, but its nowhere near as bad as it was 20 years ago when you could see videos of children working inside machine presses.

      Meanwhile conditions remain similar to what they were 20 years ago in India, Bangladesh or El Salvador.

    • FlyingCircus@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Rapid industrialization has a cost, which anyone in any western country could have told you 150 years ago. But China is continually improving, and I would expect them to be similar to US working conditions of 20 years ago within the next decade. And I say US conditions of 20 years ago, because our conditions have backtracked since then, and will likely continue to backtrack because capitalists own the government and good working conditions are a barrier to profit.

    • Hueristic_Autistic@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      You ever see the packinging centers go what appears to be fast forward speed on YouTube but irl because of the 11.11 sales? Insane how quick they can get through sorting a dumpster full of products.

      I’ve never seen it irl but I’ve seen how fast they can get though sorting in videos and it makes you wonder why people get so good at something if they’re gonna replace that with robots?

      It’s gonna be such a spit in the face when the robots take over those jobs.