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How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia?

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689 points taubek | 5 comments | 09 Apr 25 12:58 UTC | HN request time: 0.893s | source
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marenkay ◴[10 Apr 25 03:26 UTC] No.43640314[source]▶
This makes a good argument against centralized production and knowledge. It would economically be much more reasonable if any good could be produced anywhere at any time. Smaller production facilities for localized sourcing. Would IMHO also be much more in line with a free market. Everyone would be free to source goods in any country or location of their choice. Coupled with open knowledge this could be a truly free market.

But will never happen because currently free market means one business is free to dominate and control a market.

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1. TulliusCicero ◴[10 Apr 25 04:48 UTC] No.43640720[source]▶
You're asking for decentralization. There's a reason you often get centralization in industries: higher productivity due to network effects and/or economies of scale. Even within China this is true, as some areas are particularly known for manufacturing (or specific types of manufacturing).

Spreading things out sound good until you realize it's doubled your costs or halved your productivity.

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2. marenkay ◴[10 Apr 25 05:11 UTC] No.43640828[source]▶
But I think we're missing an important point here: moving production to low cost environments just moves costs from business costs into external costs, putting them on society.

As for productivity, I think that's an issue that could be addressed but people generally avoid the answer to the why question.

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3. TulliusCicero ◴[10 Apr 25 05:51 UTC] No.43641057[source]▶
> moving production to low cost environments just moves costs from business costs into external costs

[Citation needed]

Of course that can happen, but it's hardly guaranteed. If a company in the US moves a call center to a lower cost city, that's hardly foisting externalities onto anybody.

> people generally avoid the answer to the why question.

What does that even mean? What "why" question?

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4. moate ◴[10 Apr 25 14:57 UTC] No.43644465{3}[source]▶
Typically when people say cryptic things like that it's because they hold some unhinged opinion, eg "Yes, schools in urban centers perform worse but nobody wants to answer the real 'why' question. Personally I think the black community...devolves into racist rant held up by racist 'science'".

So OP, you want to defend your honor by making transparent what you intentionally left opaque here?

5. Suppafly ◴[10 Apr 25 16:55 UTC] No.43645839{3}[source]▶
>If a company in the US moves a call center to a lower cost city, that's hardly foisting externalities onto anybody.

Sure it does. That new small city then needs to upgrade their infrastructure to support that business.