Tuesday, March 9, 2010

An invasion of junk

China Safari, from which I've posted quotes before, has a chapter devoted to the effect of Chinese imports on the economy of Africa. Here's an excerpt. As you read it, don't think about Africa. Think about your last visit to the local Walmart.

"Chinese consumer products are sold at rock-bottom prices all over Africa. As well as spoons, triple-A batteries, voluminous bras and mattresses...there's eerything else: clothes, shoes, shampoo, pumps, generators, telephones, jugs, nougat, watches, glasses, kettles, dishes, toys. You get the idea. The list goes on and on, like God's 'to-do' list on the third day. And all of these items sell at a fourth or a fifth of the price the people have been used to paying.

"The stock sells out fast, and more and more Africans wonder how they ever got through life before without a small purple plastic frog that croaks when you punch it on the nose.... Cheap goods can be an even more habit-forming drug in poor countries than they are in rich ones.

"David Zweig, professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, knows all about it: 'In the past, if a state wanted to expand, it had to take territory. You don't need to grab colonies any more. You just need to have competitive goods to trade.'"

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