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Encoded information which accompanies a manufactured product, like a UPC label, which when scanned, contains the names of all the people who contributed to the direct formation and distribution of a product.
It would need to be a big label.
http://www.econlib....Essays/rdPncl1.html
[angel, Apr 07 2008]
[link]
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Because [leinypoo13] cares. |
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Part of manufacturing's ISO 9000 certification involves "keeping adequate records". You can trace back and see who was on each machine in the process of building the product, if you need to, as well as trace raw materials. It should be possible to either micro-encode that info, or provide a link to a database. |
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This idea is already being done by a lot of artisans. But for a mass-produced shirt made in an Indonesian factory, say, do you really care if the left cuff went through the sewing machine of Ida instead of Dawi? I don't think so. |
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I can't really think of any urgent reason to bake this idea. Any benefits from it (to me) would not be explicitly tangible and be more philosophical; getting a greater view of our collective interconnectedness etc, which is far greater than most people understand (angel's link). |
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That being said, more tangible uses could be from, I think two perspectives: First, from a business view, such as tracking productivity, quality control, sales etc, all the way down the line of multiple products to notice where bottlenecks may occur for different products etc. Also, perhapsto empower workers who may be able to track their products as labor bargaining chips. |
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Second, this info would be available to the consumer as well, which means greater transparency and power to the consumer in cases of both malpractice and purchasing power. For purchasing power, perhaps consumers could reverse search the database for people they knew and which products they helped create and have it affect their purchasing decisions to prevent the cognitive dissonance associated with Wal-Mart effect (i.e Actually spend the extra dollar for a screwdriver, to keep the job in this country, especially if Uncle Dick from Minnesota forged the molds). |
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Won't this play havoc with the "Six degrees of separation" theory ? |
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I want to know if the battery in my new laptop was made by a cut-rate vendor in China... |
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