Is it ethical to buy a Thinkpad?

[SteveDC]

From Slashdot . . .

"As a very happy Thinkpad T20 user (still working after 7 years), I always planned on replacing it with another Thinkpad T-series. However, Thinkpads are now produced by Lenovo, a Chinese company, and I can't quite bear to buy Chinese while the Burmese military are shooting at monks with the Chinese Government as their biggest backer."


http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/28/142240

[jdhurst]

That is a somewhat difficult question in that Chinese repression and violence against innocent people is well known. However, many products we purchase in North America (cars, computers, toys, clothing, etc.) are made in China.

Now the American and Canadian governments are factually known to be complicant in violence against innocent people for no other reason than the governments don't like the way they look. Yet we sell our products elsewhere.

I would purchase the ThinkPad and take your position against repression and violence to the political arena where it possibly can do some good.

The question posed here was reasonable and difficult, however it is not really a ThinkPad support question. Please use care and maturity if you wish to post. ... JDH

[dr_st]

Right...

Because no country in the world besides China has a history of repression and brutality towards innocent people.

Besides, as jdhurst said, everything is produced in China anyways. China owns the world in this sense.

IMO (regarding the original Slashdot post), it is silly.

[furrycute]

Since most of the world's bikini' bottoms are now made in China, I wouldn't mind a ban on women wearing made in China bikini bottoms. Man, what a sight that would be!

[K. Eng]

Now the American and Canadian governments are factually known to be complicant in violence against innocent people for no other reason than the governments don't like the way they look. Yet we sell our products elsewhere.

This is true, but the US Government generally doesn't own pieces the companies that manufacture and sell American products.

Legend Holdings Ltd., owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (an agency of the Chinese government), owns 42% of Lenovo: http://www.pc.ibm.com/ww/lenovo/investor_factsheet.html. The way I see it, buying Lenovo benefits the Chinese government as shareholder. One could make a moral case for refusing to buy Lenovo products on these grounds.

On the other hand, if Lenovo was completely owned by the public (non-government entities), the argument against buying Lenovo simply because it is Chinese would be stupid.

[qviri]

I do not think we have much of a moral ground to stand on above Lenovo. I find the thought of boycotting a bit childish personally.

[ptantra]

The way I see it, buying Lenovo benefits the Chinese government as shareholder. One could make a moral case for refusing to buy Lenovo products on these grounds.

On the other hand, if Lenovo was completely owned by the public (non-government entities), the argument against buying Lenovo simply because it is Chinese would be stupid.

Either way, the Slashdot poster will be better off choosing a different battle to fight. He or she is trying to send the Chinese government a message by penalizing a company that has no choice in who its owner is. And seeing as how virtually everything sold today has some component made in China, the poster better be willing to make some drastic lifestyle changes to be consistent with his/her moral convictions.

The issue of public vs government ownership is also moot when you don't have a choice. Last year it was revealed that US telcos turned over customer call information to the NSA. Assuming someone in the US objected to that and wanted to punish both the telcos and the US government, realistically what can they do? Switch to a new telephone carrier? All the telcos were involved (and probably still are) so that wouldn't help. They could stop using phone service, but that would mean giving up landlines, cell phones and the internet. Few are willing to do that. I guess they could stop paying federal taxes. They could probably get away with that for a while until Uncle Sam figures it out and comes calling. Oh wait...no phone. Never mind...

[rleo25]

Trying to link ethics with international commerce is a thought question, no country is void of any transgretion, so why not keep our buying habits limited to quality and satisfaction criteria and not conducted as if we were acting as moral judges.

[Pascal_TTH]

From Slashdot . . .

"As a very happy Thinkpad T20 user (still working after 7 years), I always planned on replacing it with another Thinkpad T-series. However, Thinkpads are now produced by Lenovo, a Chinese company, and I can't quite bear to buy Chinese while the Burmese military are shooting at monks with the Chinese Government as their biggest backer."


http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/28/142240

This is basically stupid... About 100 000 000 laptops will be manufactured this year : 90% in China (according to Digitimes). So, if he/she don't buy his/her new Thinkpad, world will of course change a lot...