[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.79,0:00:03.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Hi. So I'd like to talk a little bit about the people
Dialogue: 0,0:00:03.21,0:00:05.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who make the things we use every day:
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.74,0:00:09.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our shoes, our handbags, our computers and cell phones.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.50,0:00:13.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now, this is a conversation that often calls up a lot of guilt.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:13.94,0:00:17.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Imagine the teenage farm girl who makes less than
Dialogue: 0,0:00:17.54,0:00:20.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a dollar an hour stitching your running shoes,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.39,0:00:23.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or the young Chinese man who jumps off a rooftop
Dialogue: 0,0:00:23.09,0:00:27.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after working overtime assembling your iPad.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.13,0:00:30.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We, the beneficiaries of globalization, seem to exploit
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.74,0:00:33.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these victims with every purchase we make,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:33.44,0:00:35.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the injustice
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.07,0:00:38.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,feels embedded in the products themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.16,0:00:40.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After all, what's wrong with a world in which a worker
Dialogue: 0,0:00:40.72,0:00:44.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on an iPhone assembly line can't even afford to buy one?
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.50,0:00:47.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's taken for granted that Chinese factories are oppressive,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:47.15,0:00:49.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that it's our desire for cheap goods
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.88,0:00:52.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that makes them so.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.24,0:00:56.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, this simple narrative equating Western demand
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.06,0:00:58.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Chinese suffering is appealing,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.87,0:01:01.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially at a time when many of us already feel guilty
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.50,0:01:04.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about our impact on the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.08,0:01:07.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's also inaccurate and disrespectful.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:07.86,0:01:10.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We must be peculiarly self-obsessed to imagine that we
Dialogue: 0,0:01:10.85,0:01:14.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have the power to drive tens of millions of people
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.02,0:01:16.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the other side of the world to migrate and suffer
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.73,0:01:19.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in such terrible ways.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.52,0:01:22.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, China makes goods for markets all over the world,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.34,0:01:25.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,including its own, thanks to a combination of factors:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.93,0:01:29.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,its low costs, its large and educated workforce,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:29.34,0:01:31.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a flexible manufacturing system
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.80,0:01:34.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that responds quickly to market demands.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.95,0:01:38.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By focusing so much on ourselves and our gadgets,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.00,0:01:40.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we have rendered the individuals on the other end
Dialogue: 0,0:01:40.46,0:01:43.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into invisibility, as tiny and interchangeable
Dialogue: 0,0:01:43.82,0:01:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as the parts of a mobile phone.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.88,0:01:49.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Chinese workers are not forced into factories
Dialogue: 0,0:01:49.54,0:01:52.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because of our insatiable desire for iPods.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:52.02,0:01:55.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They choose to leave their homes in order to earn money,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:55.10,0:01:59.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to learn new skills, and to see the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.05,0:02:01.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In the ongoing debate about globalization, what's
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.44,0:02:04.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,been missing is the voices of the workers themselves.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.87,0:02:07.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Here are a few.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:07.18,0:02:10.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bao Yongxiu: "My mother tells me to come home
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.93,0:02:14.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and get married, but if I marry now, before I have fully
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.65,0:02:18.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,developed myself, I can only marry an ordinary worker,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.74,0:02:21.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I'm not in a rush."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.24,0:02:24.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Chen Ying: "When I went home for the new year,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.28,0:02:27.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everyone said I had changed. They asked me,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:27.54,0:02:30.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what did you do that you have changed so much?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:30.63,0:02:33.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I told them that I studied and worked hard. If you tell them
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.91,0:02:37.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more, they won't understand anyway."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.28,0:02:40.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Wu Chunming: "Even if I make a lot of money,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:40.66,0:02:42.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it won't satisfy me.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.82,0:02:47.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just to make money is not enough meaning in life."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:47.18,0:02:51.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Xiao Jin: "Now, after I get off work, I study English,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.90,0:02:53.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because in the future, our customers won't
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.68,0:02:57.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,be only Chinese, so we must learn more languages."
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.55,0:03:00.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All of these speakers, by the way, are young women,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.32,0:03:03.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,18 or 19 years old.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.40,0:03:06.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I spent two years getting to know assembly line workers
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.34,0:03:10.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like these in the south China factory city called Dongguan.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.27,0:03:12.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Certain subjects came up over and over:
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.79,0:03:14.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,how much money they made,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.70,0:03:17.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what kind of husband they hoped to marry,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.07,0:03:19.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether they should jump to another factory
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.20,0:03:21.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or stay where they were.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.40,0:03:23.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Other subjects came up almost never, including
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.59,0:03:27.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,living conditions that to me looked close to prison life:
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.04,0:03:29.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,10 or 15 workers in one room,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:29.32,0:03:32.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,50 people sharing a single bathroom,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.68,0:03:36.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,days and nights ruled by the factory clock.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.02,0:03:39.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everyone they knew lived in similar circumstances,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.50,0:03:42.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it was still better than the dormitories and homes
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.26,0:03:44.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of rural China.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.83,0:03:47.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The workers rarely spoke about the products they made,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.56,0:03:49.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they often had great difficulty explaining
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.90,0:03:52.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what exactly they did.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.34,0:03:54.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I asked Lu Qingmin,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.06,0:03:56.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the young woman I got to know best,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.16,0:03:58.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what exactly she did on the factory floor,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.62,0:04:01.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she said something to me in Chinese that sounded like
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.03,0:04:02.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"qiu xi."
Dialogue: 0,0:04:02.81,0:04:05.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only much later did I realize that she had been saying
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.78,0:04:08.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"QC," or quality control.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.100,0:04:12.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She couldn't even tell me what she did on the factory floor.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:12.86,0:04:15.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All she could do was parrot a garbled abbreviation
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.32,0:04:19.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a language she didn't even understand.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:19.31,0:04:22.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Karl Marx saw this as the tragedy of capitalism,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:22.94,0:04:26.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the alienation of the worker from the product of his labor.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.98,0:04:30.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Unlike, say, a traditional maker of shoes or cabinets,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:30.60,0:04:33.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the worker in an industrial factory has no control,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.85,0:04:37.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no pleasure, and no true satisfaction or understanding
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.11,0:04:39.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in her own work.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.30,0:04:41.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But like so many theories that Marx arrived at
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.71,0:04:44.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sitting in the reading room of the British Museum,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:44.53,0:04:47.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he got this one wrong.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.36,0:04:49.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Just because a person spends her time
Dialogue: 0,0:04:49.66,0:04:52.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,making a piece of something does not mean
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.42,0:04:54.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that she becomes that, a piece of something.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.98,0:04:58.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What she does with the money she earns,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:58.08,0:05:01.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what she learns in that place, and how it changes her,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.58,0:05:04.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,these are the things that matter.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:04.35,0:05:06.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What a factory makes is never the point, and
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.65,0:05:10.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the workers could not care less who buys their products.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.73,0:05:13.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Journalistic coverage of Chinese factories,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:13.22,0:05:15.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the other hand, plays up this relationship
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.33,0:05:18.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between the workers and the products they make.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.16,0:05:21.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Many articles calculate: How long would it take
Dialogue: 0,0:05:21.25,0:05:24.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for this worker to work in order to earn enough money
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.09,0:05:26.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to buy what he's making?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.55,0:05:29.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, an entry-level-line assembly line worker
Dialogue: 0,0:05:29.04,0:05:32.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in China in an iPhone plant would have to shell out
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.31,0:05:35.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,two and a half months' wages for an iPhone.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:35.86,0:05:39.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But how meaningful is this calculation, really?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.19,0:05:41.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,For example, I recently wrote an article
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.18,0:05:42.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in The New Yorker magazine,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.16,0:05:45.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I can't afford to buy an ad in it.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.40,0:05:47.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, who cares? I don't want an ad in The New Yorker,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:47.46,0:05:50.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and most of these workers don't really want iPhones.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.32,0:05:53.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their calculations are different.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.08,0:05:54.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How long should I stay in this factory?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.90,0:05:57.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How much money can I save?
Dialogue: 0,0:05:57.36,0:05:59.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How much will it take to buy an apartment or a car,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.93,0:06:04.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to get married, or to put my child through school?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.52,0:06:07.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The workers I got to know had a curiously abstract
Dialogue: 0,0:06:07.21,0:06:10.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,relationship with the product of their labor.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:10.97,0:06:14.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,About a year after I met Lu Qingmin, or Min,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:14.11,0:06:16.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she invited me home to her family village
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.14,0:06:18.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the Chinese New Year.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.37,0:06:20.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the train home, she gave me a present:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:20.75,0:06:25.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a Coach brand change purse with brown leather trim.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:25.14,0:06:26.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thanked her, assuming it was fake,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.82,0:06:30.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like almost everything else for sale in Dongguan.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:30.29,0:06:34.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After we got home, Min gave her mother another present:
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.10,0:06:36.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a pink Dooney & Bourke handbag,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.29,0:06:38.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a few nights later, her sister was showing off
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.71,0:06:42.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a maroon LeSportsac shoulder bag.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.22,0:06:46.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Slowly it was dawning on me that these handbags
Dialogue: 0,0:06:46.02,0:06:48.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were made by their factory,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:48.03,0:06:51.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and every single one of them was authentic.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.20,0:06:53.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Min's sister said to her parents,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.66,0:06:57.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"In America, this bag sells for 320 dollars."
Dialogue: 0,0:06:57.02,0:07:00.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Her parents, who are both farmers, looked on, speechless.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.06,0:07:02.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"And that's not all -- Coach is coming out with a new line,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.62,0:07:07.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,2191," she said. "One bag will sell for 6,000."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:07.42,0:07:11.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She paused and said, "I don't know if that's 6,000 yuan or
Dialogue: 0,0:07:11.67,0:07:17.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,6,000 American dollars, but anyway, it's 6,000." (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:07:17.32,0:07:19.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Min's sister's boyfriend, who had traveled home with her
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.91,0:07:22.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for the new year, said,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.03,0:07:24.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It doesn't look like it's worth that much."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.86,0:07:27.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Min's sister turned to him and said, "Some people actually
Dialogue: 0,0:07:27.69,0:07:31.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,understand these things. You don't understand shit."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:31.23,0:07:35.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter) (Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.89,0:07:39.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In Min's world, the Coach bags had a curious currency.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.93,0:07:42.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They weren't exactly worthless, but they were nothing
Dialogue: 0,0:07:42.25,0:07:44.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,close to the actual value, because almost no one they knew
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.96,0:07:48.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,wanted to buy one, or knew how much it was worth.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:48.89,0:07:52.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once, when Min's older sister's friend got married,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.24,0:07:55.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,she brought a handbag along as a wedding present.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:55.07,0:07:57.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Another time, after Min had already left
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.24,0:08:00.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the handbag factory, her younger sister came to visit,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.38,0:08:04.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bringing two Coach Signature handbags as gifts.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.49,0:08:06.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I looked in the zippered pocket of one,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.57,0:08:10.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I found a printed card in English, which read,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.80,0:08:14.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"An American classic.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.06,0:08:16.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 1941, the burnished patina
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.57,0:08:18.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of an all-American baseball glove
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.94,0:08:21.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,inspired the founder of Coach to create
Dialogue: 0,0:08:21.14,0:08:23.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a new collection of handbags from the same
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.54,0:08:26.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,luxuriously soft gloved-hand leather.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:26.75,0:08:30.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Six skilled leatherworkers crafted 12 Signature handbags
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.93,0:08:35.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with perfect proportions and a timeless flair.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.06,0:08:37.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were fresh, functional, and women everywhere
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.34,0:08:42.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,adored them. A new American classic was born."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:42.68,0:08:45.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wonder what Karl Marx would have made of Min
Dialogue: 0,0:08:45.01,0:08:46.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and her sisters.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:46.91,0:08:49.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their relationship with the product of their labor
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.52,0:08:51.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was more complicated, surprising and funny
Dialogue: 0,0:08:51.82,0:08:54.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than he could have imagined.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:54.07,0:08:56.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And yet, his view of the world persists, and our tendency
Dialogue: 0,0:08:56.90,0:08:59.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to see the workers as faceless masses,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.51,0:09:03.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to imagine that we can know what they're really thinking.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.38,0:09:06.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first time I met Min, she had just turned 18
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.78,0:09:09.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and quit her first job on the assembly line
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.44,0:09:11.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of an electronics factory.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:11.75,0:09:14.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over the next two years, I watched as she switched jobs
Dialogue: 0,0:09:14.40,0:09:17.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,five times, eventually landing a lucrative post
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.47,0:09:21.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the purchasing department of a hardware factory.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:21.05,0:09:23.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Later, she married a fellow migrant worker,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:23.57,0:09:25.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,moved with him to his village,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:25.71,0:09:27.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,gave birth to two daughters,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:27.92,0:09:30.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and saved enough money to buy a secondhand Buick
Dialogue: 0,0:09:30.10,0:09:34.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for herself and an apartment for her parents.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.51,0:09:37.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She recently returned to Dongguan on her own
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.64,0:09:41.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to take a job in a factory that makes construction cranes,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.26,0:09:43.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,temporarily leaving her husband and children
Dialogue: 0,0:09:43.46,0:09:45.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,back in the village.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:45.44,0:09:48.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In a recent email to me, she explained,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:48.02,0:09:52.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"A person should have some ambition while she is young
Dialogue: 0,0:09:52.07,0:09:54.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that in old age she can look back on her life
Dialogue: 0,0:09:54.73,0:09:59.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and feel that it was not lived to no purpose."
Dialogue: 0,0:09:59.52,0:10:03.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Across China, there are 150 million workers like her,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:03.91,0:10:06.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one third of them women, who have left their villages
Dialogue: 0,0:10:06.66,0:10:10.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to work in the factories, the hotels, the restaurants
Dialogue: 0,0:10:10.21,0:10:12.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the construction sites of the big cities.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:12.81,0:10:16.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Together, they make up the largest migration in history,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:16.56,0:10:19.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it is globalization, this chain that begins
Dialogue: 0,0:10:19.56,0:10:22.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a Chinese farming village
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.08,0:10:25.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and ends with iPhones in our pockets and Nikes on our feet
Dialogue: 0,0:10:25.85,0:10:28.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Coach handbags on our arms
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.28,0:10:30.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that has changed the way these millions of people
Dialogue: 0,0:10:30.56,0:10:35.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,work and marry and live and think.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:35.48,0:10:37.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Very few of them would want to go back
Dialogue: 0,0:10:37.43,0:10:39.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the way things used to be.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:39.98,0:10:43.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I first went to Dongguan, I worried that
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.16,0:10:47.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it would be depressing to spend so much time with workers.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.54,0:10:50.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I also worried that nothing would ever happen to them,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.31,0:10:52.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or that they would have nothing to say to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:52.94,0:10:55.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Instead, I found young women who were smart and funny
Dialogue: 0,0:10:55.59,0:10:58.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and brave and generous.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:58.44,0:11:00.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By opening up their lives to me,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.77,0:11:02.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they taught me so much about factories
Dialogue: 0,0:11:02.97,0:11:07.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and about China and about how to live in the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:09.49,0:11:12.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the Coach purse that Min gave me
Dialogue: 0,0:11:12.20,0:11:14.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the train home to visit her family.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.61,0:11:17.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I keep it with me to remind me of the ties that tie me
Dialogue: 0,0:11:17.25,0:11:19.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the young women I wrote about,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:19.98,0:11:24.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ties that are not economic but personal in nature,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.24,0:11:27.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,measured not in money but in memories.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.81,0:11:31.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This purse is also a reminder that the things that you imagine,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.23,0:11:34.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sitting in your office or in the library,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:34.77,0:11:37.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are not how you find them when you actually go out
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.18,0:11:38.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into the world.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:38.68,0:11:40.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you. (Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:11:40.67,0:11:47.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)
Dialogue: 0,0:11:47.34,0:11:49.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Chris Anderson: Thank you, Leslie, that was an insight
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.41,0:11:52.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that a lot of us haven't had before.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:52.01,0:11:55.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But I'm curious. If you had a minute, say,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:55.50,0:11:59.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with Apple's head of manufacturing,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:59.22,0:12:01.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what would you say?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:01.58,0:12:02.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Leslie Chang: One minute?
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.70,0:12:04.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,CA: One minute. (Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.22,0:12:06.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,LC: You know, what really impressed me about the workers
Dialogue: 0,0:12:06.14,0:12:09.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is how much they're self-motivated, self-driven,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:09.37,0:12:11.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,resourceful, and the thing that struck me,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:11.99,0:12:14.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what they want most is education, to learn,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.95,0:12:16.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because most of them come from very poor backgrounds.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:16.50,0:12:19.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They usually left school when they were in 7th or 8th grade.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:19.44,0:12:21.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Their parents are often illiterate,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.68,0:12:24.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and then they come to the city, and they, on their own,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:24.32,0:12:26.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at night, during the weekends, they'll take a computer class,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:26.45,0:12:28.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they'll take an English class, and learn
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.72,0:12:30.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,really, really rudimentary things, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:30.84,0:12:32.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like how to type a document in Word,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.58,0:12:35.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or how to say really simple things in English.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:35.24,0:12:37.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, if you really want to help these workers,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.37,0:12:40.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,start these small, very focused, very pragmatic classes
Dialogue: 0,0:12:40.59,0:12:43.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in these schools, and what's going to happen is,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:43.72,0:12:45.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all your workers are going to move on,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.14,0:12:48.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but hopefully they'll move on into higher jobs within Apple,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:48.55,0:12:51.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you can help their social mobility
Dialogue: 0,0:12:51.49,0:12:52.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and their self-improvement.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:52.49,0:12:54.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you talk to workers, that's what they want.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:54.26,0:12:56.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They do not say, "I want better hot water in the showers.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.94,0:12:58.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want a nicer room. I want a TV set."
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.92,0:13:00.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, it would be nice to have those things,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:00.55,0:13:01.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that's not why they're in the city,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:01.70,0:13:03.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's not what they care about.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:03.79,0:13:07.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,CA: Was there a sense from them of a narrative that
Dialogue: 0,0:13:07.34,0:13:10.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things were kind of tough and bad, or was there a narrative
Dialogue: 0,0:13:10.76,0:13:13.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of some kind of level of growth, that things over time
Dialogue: 0,0:13:13.77,0:13:15.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were getting better?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:15.39,0:13:17.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,LC: Oh definitely, definitely. I mean, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:17.30,0:13:19.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was interesting, because I spent basically two years
Dialogue: 0,0:13:19.66,0:13:21.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hanging out in this city, Dongguan,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:21.66,0:13:23.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and over that time, you could see immense change
Dialogue: 0,0:13:23.77,0:13:26.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in every person's life: upward, downward, sideways,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:26.56,0:13:28.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but generally upward.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:28.38,0:13:30.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If you spend enough time, it's upward, and I met people
Dialogue: 0,0:13:30.17,0:13:32.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who had moved to the city 10 years ago, and who are now
Dialogue: 0,0:13:32.47,0:13:34.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,basically urban middle class people,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:34.57,0:13:36.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so the trajectory is definitely upward.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.60,0:13:38.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's just hard to see when you're suddenly
Dialogue: 0,0:13:38.53,0:13:40.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sucked into the city. It looks like everyone's poor and
Dialogue: 0,0:13:40.65,0:13:42.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,desperate, but that's not really how it is.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:42.39,0:13:44.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Certainly, the factory conditions are really tough,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:44.54,0:13:46.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's nothing you or I would want to do,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:46.86,0:13:50.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but from their perspective, where they're coming from
Dialogue: 0,0:13:50.00,0:13:52.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is much worse, and where they're going
Dialogue: 0,0:13:52.00,0:13:54.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is hopefully much better, and I just wanted to give
Dialogue: 0,0:13:54.01,0:13:56.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that context of what's going on in their minds,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:56.37,0:13:58.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,not what necessarily is going on in yours.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:58.73,0:14:00.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,CA: Thanks so much for your talk.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:00.23,0:14:04.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you very much. (Applause)