Cuicui wrote:
In the short term, yes, but in the long term, with globalization, (in one or two generations - we will probably no longer be there to see it - and if the planet survives) the standard of living and prices will be the same in all the countries, and the Chinese will be tired of working for the others, and maybe the robots will do everything (I like SF, fiction of today = reality of tomorrow ...)
I do not think that China will one day have the same standard of living and prices similar to other countries. This was made clear by the President of China who signified his desire for wages in China to be continuously lower than any other country, because there will always be labor in China.
On the quality of the products, I would say that it is directly linked to the fact that a product is made by hand or not. And, it seems to me that in China, many factories are much less autmatized than in France, given the price of labor there. For this, I refer to a report made by Nokia on ethics in its factories. However, this is balanced by the techniques used and the time spent on each product produced.
Today, when we look at certain products made at low prices, we quickly realize their quality, but also, sometimes their dangerousness. Besides, I sometimes wonder how certain products can be on the French market ... Among other DIY products!
Me too, Cuicui, I am a fanatic of the SF, since I fell into it at the end of my studies with Dan Simmons. And just like you, I think that some SF books are a real vision for the future, like certain films too. Besides, it is not for nothing that the ESA opened a library of SF to study certain concepts ... In addition that quite a lot of SF books were written by scientists ...
On the other hand, for air bubble washing machines, I had never heard of it. But the concept appeals to me if it turns out that it washes the laundry well.