Capitalism Needs a Conscience: Why We Must Rethink Our Trade Relationship with China
I’m not here to bash capitalism. When done with principle, capitalism can uplift societies, drive innovation, and reward hard work. But what we’ve practiced for the last four decades — especially in our trade relationship with China — isn’t principled. It’s capitalism without a conscience. It’s a system that rewards corporations for finding the cheapest labor, the weakest regulations, and the easiest escape routes from responsibility.
Since the 1980s, U.S. corporations — with Wall Street’s applause — shifted production to countries like China and Indonesia. The goal? Cut costs, dodge environmental and labor regulations, and pad quarterly earnings. It wasn’t about fair global competition. It was about building wealth by outsourcing consequences.
Let’s talk plainly about what that looks like on the ground.
In many Chinese factories, workers are paid far below a living wage — sometimes less than $2 an hour. They endure grueling 12- to 16-hour shifts, often six or seven days a week, with little or no overtime pay. In some sectors, like electronics assembly, workers live in cramped dormitories, eat substandard food, and are fined for minor infractions like talking, taking too long in the restroom, or missing a quota. Suicide nets outside buildings like those once erected at Foxconn — the massive Apple supplier — tell a story no press release can whitewash.
There is no independent system for workers to speak out for their rights in China. Strikes are illegal. Organizing is criminalized. And in regions like Xinjiang, credible reports and investigations have linked entire industries — cotton, solar panels, and more — to state-run forced labor programs that target ethnic minorities. This isn’t “low-cost” production. It’s coerced production. And far too many U.S. companies have looked the other way or actively lobbied against legislation that would hold them accountable.
Yes, free trade can create mutual benefits. It can lift standards of living, drive global collaboration, and lower costs for consumers. But free trade with regimes that suppress human rights, censor speech, crush labor, and manipulate currency isn’t really free. It’s exploitative. And it has allowed companies to offload moral and legal obligations in the name of “efficiency.”
This isn't protectionism. It’s not xenophobia or economic paranoia. It’s a moral reckoning. We can’t pretend to champion human rights and dignity at home while outsourcing our manufacturing to governments that deny both. This isn’t about isolating China or cutting off the global economy — it’s about drawing lines. Trade should be a partnership, not a cover for abuse.
There are better ways forward. Countries like India, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Mexico offer growing workforces, more transparent governance, and a desire for fair economic partnerships. No system is perfect — but choosing less abusive alternatives is not only possible, it’s necessary.
We can reform trade deals to incentivize labor rights, environmental protections, and rule of law. We can demand supply chain transparency. And we can stop rewarding the companies that regulator-shopped their way to massive profits while abandoning any semblance of responsibility.
Capitalism can still be a force for good. But it has to be capitalism with boundaries — with values. Otherwise, we’re not just complicit in abuse. We’re paying for it, wearing it, and building our economy on its back.
In the very least, we can put pressure on Beijing to do better.
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