Offshoring & outsourcing – The Economist

Dear Madam,

Here’s a simple test that I propose to every man that opposes outsourcing :

If you did know which companies produced their goods entirely in your country vs which ones did not (i.e. they outsourced part or all of the finished product/service) – would you be willing to put your money where your mouth is and buy the more expensive product?

If the answer is YES – then how much more are you willing to spend? 10% more? 50%? What if a Ford car made all in America soup-to-nuts cost $50K versus a comparable class Toyota that costs $30K?

Most, if not all, people answer –

A. “Yeah well I’ll buy the cheaper one of course” or

B. “Well I’ll buy the national product as long as it does not break the bank”

Forget trying to make your government force or incentivize your country’s corporations to not outsource – let’s start with YOU!

– Will you take your child to the best doctor you have in your family (if you have one) rather than the best doctor you can find, period?

– If your brother is a mediocre attorney, will you still ask him to fight your case out of a sense of familial “duty”?

So if you cannot be relied upon to act blindly and dogmatically even when it comes to your own blood, your own family – something you can see and talk to everyday – how can you be expected to act in solidarity for your “nation” and “society” which are much more abstract concepts?

Forget corporations, ask these questions of yourself first. The answers will reveal as much to you about human nature as they will about your own proclivities.