Something that resonates with me is the notion that to be a good person, having principles is not enough - it's acting on them that counts. This notion is something that I've been thinking more about over the past few weeks as I consider the implications of what I do here.
Here's a slice of my life here: I buy ridiculously cheap fake clothing, I eat cheap local food and I get cheap massages. It's hard not to. Everyone does. It makes life easier and more enjoyable.
But the implications of these relatively banal actions bug me.
Counterfeit clothing and other black market goods have cheap prices in part because lack of regulation means cheaper labor. Labor is cheaper often in part because without regulation working conditions deteriorate to atrocious levels. It's not pleasant to consider the factories and sweat shops that churn out the black market goods I purchase, nor is it nice to think about the "bundle effect", that people who conduct one type of illegal activity are likely to be conducting others as well.
Dirt cheap food. Here, more so than in the West, concern for animal rights does nothing to bump prices up. Profit margins are tight, and in the hunt to cut corners, animal rights pose no barriers. It's not hard to find documented horrors - look for example at the videos on the PETA's website. The odds here that the animal you eat at dinner was treated humanely are slim.
Massages. Sometimes I feel like having legit massages, from an ethical standpoint, is on par with the non-legit variety. At some of the local places I go to it's not inconceivable that the girls who provide legit massages also provide dirty ones. If so, most of the arguments against unregulated prostitution apply. Such massage girls can be, and are, exploited in the same way. It's not a comforting black and white, prostitution bad, massage industry ok.
It's these sort of examples that bug me (but there are others, as well). I don't go for prostitution or any other unregulated, highly exploitable industry as a matter of principle. I believe strongly in heightened animal rights. I'm not for "hiring" a 10 year old to work unregulated and sometimes dangerous 16 hour days. But I feel like these principles of mine may be worth little if my small everyday actions contribute in their own small way to the detriment of what I believe in. I dislike the thought that when I go about my business here, I'm potentially dropping theoretical cents into "abuse animals", "exploit youths", and "exploit women" donation boxes.
In discussions with people who indulge in behavior that is unequivocally unethical to me (such as pimp-based prostitution or buying fur here in China), who am I to critique? The examples I've given above make me feel like it's all shades of gray, and I don't like the subjectivity involved in drawing the line. Whether your dropping cents or big dollar checks into the donation boxes, it's the thought (or lack thereof) that counts, no?
In one such discussion, I was told "it's all fucked here Royce, don't worry so much". There's a lot I don't like about this attitude.
I disagree with the implication of any kind of inevitability; there are good alternatives to what I do. Deviation from principles is slightly more justifiable if there are no obvious alternatives but that's not the case here. I could pay more and go only to places where I'm 100 percent sure the entire establishment is legit. I could become picky about my choices of restaurant and food. I could only buy clothing from companies with supply chains that I trust. These wouldn't be such drastic changes to make. Saying to oneself "it's just how it's done here" is no justification for somebody with the means to do otherwise.
I also disagree with any implication that individual actions don't matter. We all essentially place votes with our actions, explicitly or implicitly condoning whatever is associated with it. In the same way that voting matters, so do our actions.
So what's keeping me eating Chinese meat and buying fakes? Is the enjoyment I derive out of these activities greater than the value I place in my principles? I hope not. Do I rationalize my behavior with thoughts along the lines of "it's but a drop in the bucket" (i.e. my vote doesn't matter)? Possibly. Or am I unconvinced by the connections I've drawn above? Maybe. Regardless, it's safe to say that I haven't thought enough about both these specific issues and the more general issue of consumer based choices; it's easy not to think about them.
I'm increasingly feeling like I'm on shaky moral ground over here and I'm not liking the feeling. I worry that I don't think enough about these issues because I realize enjoyable aspects of my life are in the balance. I feel like I either need to more honest with myself about what really does matter to me - or - start adjusting my actions to be in full accordance with my principles.
