1. Tech products become the byproducts of a money-making scheme rather than an end unto themselves.

Literally any product on the market is a byproduct of a money-making scheme.

2. Even inspired leaders internalize a worldview which places profits over humane behavior.

Focuses on lambasting Steve Jobs for being an all-around prick and using Chinese labor. In reality, U.S. companies exporting labor gives millions of impoverished families a source of income and stability. But yeah, Jobs was an asshole. Nothing shocking there.

3. The culture encourages a solipsistic detachment from reality, even as its brute economic strength colonizes everything it touches.

Baby's first thesaurus?

4. The Valley gets fixated on lame (and sometimes antisocial) buzzwords.

Coming from the media: fuckin' lol.

5. Silicon Valley’s culture is hurting our economy. [Read: monopolies allow room for inefficiency]

This author is out of his mind if he thinks the top companies in SV are inefficient. There's a huge market for efficiency innovation to beat out competitors by literally microscopic margins. Just look at the semiconductor industry for an example of tight performance limits required to stay competitive.

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on April 13, 2015, 08:56:45 AM

In reality, U.S. companies exporting labor gives millions of impoverished families a source of income and stability.

If you call slave labor "stability", sure.

There's quite a bit of what is essentially slave labor, and it's detestable. Obviously I'm not referring to companies that use such practices.

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on April 16, 2015, 08:44:08 AM

Quote from: challengerX on April 16, 2015, 05:10:17 AM

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on April 13, 2015, 08:56:45 AM

In reality, U.S. companies exporting labor gives millions of impoverished families a source of income and stability.

If you call slave labor "stability", sure.

There's quite a bit of what is essentially slave labor, and it's detestable. Obviously I'm not referring to companies that use such practices.

But the majority of it is slave labor. And for the ones who are payed, it's no better than indentured servitude.

China has about 1 billion workers, with approximately .3% of those being bonafide slave labor, and another 1% being the near-slave labor that you hear about from companies like Foxconn, who make Apple products. Mostly migrant workers fall into the former and latter. That's terrible, but it doesn't negate the fact that there are legitimately beneficial companies hiring labor in China. America itself has tens of thousands of actual slaves in it, but you wouldn't say the majority of poor people are slaves.

You're joking if you think we know about even half the slave labor in China alone.

It's from the Global Slavery Index. We actually do have a pretty good idea of the extent of slave labor worldwide. It's officially banned in China, but the majority is the 'near-slave labor' I mentioned which is the typical example of lines of workstations with kids through teens working for 12+ hours per day. From our perspective a lot of that is terrible; we would never pay someone a dollar per hour to work half the day; in China, though, poor kids tend to want to do work, whatever they can get, to support their family, and American/Western companies tend to have better working conditions and higher pay than others.

Quote from: HurtfulTurkey on April 16, 2015, 09:30:12 AM

Quote from: challengerX on April 16, 2015, 09:18:28 AM

You're joking if you think we know about even half the slave labor in China alone.

It's from the Global Slavery Index. We actually do have a pretty good idea of the extent of slave labor worldwide. It's officially banned in China, but the majority is the 'near-slave labor' I mentioned which is the typical example of lines of workstations with kids through teens working for 12+ hours per day. From our perspective a lot of that is terrible; we would never pay someone a dollar per hour to work half the day; in China, though, poor kids tend to want to do work, whatever they can get, to support their family, and American/Western companies tend to have better working conditions and higher pay than others.

And yet it's practically slave labor.

Okay, it's practically slave labor, except the workers get paid relatively fair wages and aren't owned by their employer and have the ability to form unions.

A dollar an hour is fair.

On average it's actually above $3/hr, but yeah, in China that's a fair wage for unskilled labor.

Except the working conditions are terrible and they can't complain because there's a million other people that can take his position.

It's not universally terrible, and I'm not sure why you're claiming they can't complain, since labor unions and strikes are a big deal there.

On the actual topic's interest in Chinese labor, I agree that Foxconn is a very inhumane company and Jobs/Apple deserve all the shit they got for using them.

The media would probably be less anti-libertarian if there was an accessible standard of what the libertarian political platform was. It seems to range from "hey, maybe we shouldn't meddle in these certain areas" to "OMG SHUT DOWN ALL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS"

Quote from: Mad Max on April 16, 2015, 10:22:16 AM

The media would probably be less anti-libertarian if there was an accessible standard of what the libertarian political platform was. It seems to range from "hey, maybe we shouldn't meddle in these certain areas" to "OMG SHUT DOWN ALL GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS"

Ancap=/=Libertarian

Both are informed by the same principles, but it's easy to tell the difference it you're not retarded.

Ancap?

Quote from: Forgewolf on April 15, 2015, 11:12:24 PM

I thought the media was Liberal and not Libertarian? The media usually praises big government (just like Liberals do) while Libertarians do the opposite.

EDIT Sorry, I read this wrong.. The media loves big government cock, not surprised

Oh no!

Big Government!!!!!

WHATEVER SHALL WE DO!!?!?!?!?

We should let them ruin the country of course! : D. There's nothing better the living in a constant fear of an entity vastly bigger and more powerful and holds all the cards. That's what makes countries like China so great!

Quote from: Forgewolf on April 18, 2015, 06:24:12 PM

Quote from: Not Comms Officer on April 16, 2015, 05:36:36 PM

Quote from: Forgewolf on April 15, 2015, 11:12:24 PM

I thought the media was Liberal and not Libertarian? The media usually praises big government (just like Liberals do) while Libertarians do the opposite.

EDIT Sorry, I read this wrong.. The media loves big government cock, not surprised

Oh no!

Big Government!!!!!

WHATEVER SHALL WE DO!!?!?!?!?

We should let them ruin the country of course! : D. There's nothing better the living in a constant fear of an entity vastly bigger and more powerful and holds all the cards. That's what makes countries like China so great!

Spoiler

Sarcasm included

Cause China is the only country with Big Government in the world. And of course Liberalism without being Libertarian doesn't exist! You have no idea what you're talking about whatsoever.

I think you have no idea what the negative implications are for having a massive government slamming you down with their gigantic thumb. People keeping listening to the TV media and don't question it, that's what we will be getting, mark my words