You can say the real means of production aren’t anything material, but the skills, and knowledge of how to make things. And, like, the US just gave it all up willingly because it “makes economic sense” and makes the rich more money. Now they (the US) don’t even know how to make new stuff anymore.
Edit: clarify who i meant by “they”, thought it was unambiguous.
Nah, they got a point:
Apple spent billions training Chinese workers how to do highly skilled manufacturing work for pennies and shitty hours with huge turnover rates. Remember the days of suicide nets in factories where the workers lived?
Apple viewed them as a disposible work force, they viewed it as job training.
They wash out, then get jobs doing the same things “the Apple method” for more pay and better conditions for a Chinese company.
Still not great pay, still not great conditions, but there’s an incentive there to work for a local company instead of Apple.
Over decades this has led to today where even if we tank our manufacturing away, that just makes manufacturing Chinese competitors even cheaper.
It has nothing to do with discoveries, it’s about a trained workforce with the infrastructure in place for them to work and a supply of the rare earth materials they need.
I’d love to be part of a trained workforce, but I cant get experience in a job because the recruiter needs 5+ years experience on the job.