Communism: In political and social sciences, communism is the philosophical, social, political, and economic ideology and movement whose ultimate goal is the establishment of the communist society, which is a socioeconomic order structured upon the common ownership of the means of production and the absence of social classes, money, and the state.
Capitalism: Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Characteristics central to capitalism include private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, voluntary exchange, a price system, and competitive markets.
I've been thinking about this ever since the drywall from China was reported to be radioactive.
We all want cheap stuff - Walmart runs that idea into the ground as does Amazon. But for me, it has been difficult to rationalize the success communist China is experiencing with Capitalism. U.S. Capitalism brought down the Soviet Union and Block; U.S. capitalism succeeded in Viet Nam when our hamstrung military did not. It seems to me that blue jeans, rock and roll and Mcdonald's is enough to dissolve the Great Wall.
Today, why are we surprised to hear that the Red Chinese have implanted secret spy chips in the motherboards of some of the most widely used servers in the world. How much easier it is to plant a chip anywhere inside a printer or toner cartridge?
In addition to opening up our clouds to Red China, we've purchased killer dog food and poison drywall.
In addition to opening up our clouds to Red China, we've purchased killer dog food and poison drywall.
More disturbing, in order to do business in the land of Mao, international companies must share proprietary technology with their Chinese competitors. We've been doing just that for nearly a decade. Is it any wonder the new Chinese fighter jet looks like ours?
What does all this mean? What can we do?
It seems odd to mix geopolitical issues with managed print services, but here we are. We were always integrated with politics, global issues, and future tech - we could be the first to call out Red China.
More:
Killer Toner
MpS, Terrorism and Third-Party Toner
What does all this mean? What can we do?
- STOP selling toner from Red China.
- STOP buying clones from Red China.
- Shun everything coming from Red China.
- Highlight HP and Xerox's American heritage.
- Tell end-users of possible harm resulting from Chinese clones or toner.
- Remove Lexmark from all US Federal, State, and local Government contracts - Education as well. This is a difficult notion - I know many good people at Lexmark. But it isn't the same Lexmark, is it? (NineStar).
It seems odd to mix geopolitical issues with managed print services, but here we are. We were always integrated with politics, global issues, and future tech - we could be the first to call out Red China.
More:
Killer Toner
MpS, Terrorism and Third-Party Toner