TEMU and commodity fetishism
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Video edited by myself this time :) hope it wasn't too painful!
1) (i add my answer to a comment on AI here fyi) Hey! I understand your concern, i don't use AI imagery in any of my work but I felt like it would be ironical to use it here just a couple of times given the topic of the video. In case it wasn't clear, my use of AI in this video is purely ironical, it's a sort of criticism of AI since the images are super exaggerated, look really bad and don't bring anything to the story. That's why I added the '?' in the first one and overplayed the dramatic aspect in the 'Georgio' series. The goal was actually to make fun of AI imagery. Satire is the only purpose it serves in that context. I don't plan on using AI imagery in the future because of the ethical problems as you mentioned, it was the first time and again purely contextual and satirical but hey thank you for voicing that concern, it allows me to clarify and keep me in check :) i'll add that an ethical existence on the internet is simply impossible, we pretty much all use lithium powered devices, we constantly train algorithms and AI with our comments, likes and habits. It makes sense to do our best to align our values though and we can all improve!
2)my pronunciation of feitiço was so bad!! sorry about this, i was so confident it was pronounced this way that i didn't even check it, i usually play the "sorry im french" card when it comes to pronounciation but it doesn't really work this time ugh, does it? (it clearly doesn't) hope you enjoy the video :)
Temu is a chinese spyware
Fei-ti-ço: pronounce it as "Fay-Tee-Soul"
We could understand, don't worry too much. So far the portuguese words in your other videos have been okay.
@@josdesouza I would say more like "fay tee soo".
Please, don't use AI 'art' in your videos
I get so many Temu ads all the fucking time that I decided to avoid it out of spite way before i even knew what it was. I fucking hate Temu.
Same
Exactly this.
That's my story with this other shopping plataform named Shopee. I got their ads so often and hated their jingle so goddamn much that I avoid them out of spice since.
There’s no way they selling items that cheap, or even free.
Same
Yall I think she gets it lmao. Kind of wish once people see that an issue has been raised (repeatedly) they wouldn’t double down SO hard, especially when you know this creator like, definitely listens. Makes for a very boring comment section that’s usually full of a diverse range of opinions.
You would think that Alice has earned enough trust in this community that everyone could have just a modicum of faith that her use of AI art was intentional to make a subtle point, a lighthearted jab at the extent that commodity fetishism has crept into everything, including art (as she pointed out in replies), rather than a moral/ethical misstep or laziness on her part. We gotta get better at understanding subtext, collectively, and we don't have to rush to "correct" everything our nervous systems tell us is "wrong."
Uh no dude... I think you're reaching way too hard to try to defend her here.
I think yall are making a big deal out of nothing here
Diamond is basically carbon (price collapses)
It's a great example. Diamond isn't even that rare or expensive to extract, it's only that valuable because of marketing and oligopoly of big diamond corporations.
I mean a diamond ring is just a waste of a perfectly good drill bit
@@elibot (mmm, do I need a drill bit?)
Diamonds also can be made artificially, Japan already crushed the price of natural opal with lab grown one.
"Shop like a billionaire." Ah yes. Buy cheap garbage on a Wish clone.🧐As billionaires do.
It's even worse because people get free money on the platform by convincing other people to use it. So sometimes, they don't even pay for it.
Yeah but look at the things cluttering up your work bench to fix. I have stuff=American dream.
😂Exactly!
As opposed to buying overpriced garbage elsewhere? I can see why temu is growing so rapidly.
"shop like a billionaire (wants you to)"
I'm an aesthetic lifestyle content creator. In the same way that Alice watches our content for a sense of peace or calm, I watch critical video essays in an attempt to quell my addiction to commodities and rationalize myself out of them. But it is so difficult. The truth is that many creators are stuck in this cycle, in ways even worse than our own audiences because we typically also receive these products "free of charge". The only measure of progress I can see moving foward, is to inspire creativity and novelty through repeat usage and re-discovery. It's a resourceful challenge that I'm willing to pursue, but resisting the urge for "more" is still difficult (and they're not mutually exclusive). I'm at a point now where I'm just trying to exhaust myself out of every idea and urge as quickly as possible.
Accelerationism has always struck me as "if we just let this group of people (which doesn't include me) suffer a bit longer, it'll cause the system to change for the better." It's a selfish way of off-loading effort and suffering onto people who are already suffering the most in society.
It's why I'll never get behind the idea that allowing someone like Trump to win, for example, would lead to something good. It's easy to imagine such a scenario working out if you're a straight, middle class white man. You'll probably be fine no matter what. It's a lot less easy to imagine that being a good strategy if you're LGBTQ or a woman or an immigrant. That's why activism will always be preferable to accelerationism, in my opinion.
not to try to defend it, but how would accelerationism actually cause people who are suffering from suffering longer? If the revolution is accelerated wouldn't they suffer for less time? Or are we pretending that working within the liberal system is actually doing something to alleviate people's suffering?
cry lib
I think accelerationism is often disquised as good will (i.e. I worked hard and achieved so much, so you can too). It's a great way to put responsibility on someone else while simultaneously ignoring the systemic problems that are out of any one person's control. But because it's wrapped in this sort of false positive motivator, people tend to go along with it, even when they conciously know it's BS.
@@CatarinaStone For one, there's no evidence that accelerationism actually works. Did Trump's election lead to less suffering for the groups I mentioned, or has it simply ramped up over the past decade? Aren't we still neck-deep in neoliberal hell? Would things get better or worse if he's re-elected? One could argue the accelerationism of Nazi Germany certainly led to a shortened period of suffering for the people caught up in the Holocaust -- i.e. they died earlier than they would have otherwise -- but I don't think most of us would view that as a good thing.
Under accelerationism, many people are simply deemed expendable in pursuit of a larger goal which may not even come to fruition. The Farquaadian notion of "Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I am willing to make" has never struck me as a particularly leftist ideal. It's gambling with other people's lives.
All accelerationists are right wing accelerationists
i'll be interested to see the arguments people try to come up with as to how a diamond has intrinsic value
Almost no one argues that anymore though……. It has an objective value in the sense that , people voluntarily choose to pay as much as they want to for it.
Its has none - its astonishingly common, they have to boost the price by buying up supply and just stockpiling it. Industrial diamond has intrinsic value cos it is so useful.
@@piccalillipit9211 its not intrinsic . Its objective but i agree on the reat
It's SHINY!!!
I think that the natural colour and the cut could constitute the value of a diamond, so its rarity and beauty. But basically, the price of most diamonds is just way over the top.
As a Brazilian, when I first saw the title, I thought you were going to discuss what we typically refer to as 'commodities'-raw materials like soy, iron, or oil, which involve simple extraction or minimal processing. In Brazil, 'commodity' has a more restricted meaning, focusing on these low-complexity products that are traded globally without much added value. They’re essentially resources that are easy to extract and trade, but they don’t undergo significant transformation before reaching the market.
I also find it interesting that in English, the word 'commodities' can be used more broadly to describe low-quality products, services, or even amenities. There’s a clever play on words here, as 'commodities' and 'conveniences' (comodidades) share the same root, hinting at things that are easy to access, consume, or use without much thought. In Portuguese, we often use 'merchandise fetishism' (fetichismo da mercadoria) instead of 'commodity fetishism,' since 'commodity' for us is tied strictly to these basic goods, while 'merchandise' better captures the broader idea of products being imbued with social or symbolic value, as described in Marxist theory.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the video. Congratulations on another great upload, and thank you for sharing your thoughts.
P.S.: Your pronunciation of 'feitiço' is perfectly fine! The content of the video, which is what truly matters, is excellent
well in portugal what you call comodidades we would call matéria-prima. Comodidade would be something that people associate with comfort.
@@CatarinaStone Thank you so much for your comment, it's great to read your perspective.
Actually, here in Brazil, we use "comodidade" in a way that's quite similar to how it's used in Portugal, referring to comfort and convenience. I'm sorry if my comment sparked some confusion in that sense - I need to write better.
But when it comes to "commodity," we actually use the English term to refer to raw materials. We don't translate it. It is like that because I think Brazil tends to be a bit more "meta-anthropophagic" than Portugal - this is a term I came up with to describe how we sort of cannibalize our own language, adopting foreign words, especially English ones, without really questioning if there are better alternatives in Portuguese - I actually think this is a global phenomena, but It's not the time or place to explain this idea.
In the case of "commodities," we use the term to highlight how Brazil is often seen as an underdeveloped country that mainly exports these raw materials, with no added value, which some argue keeps us stuck in a cycle of underdevelopment.
I really loved this exchange, and it’s fun to think about how we’re so close, our languages so interconnected. I can understand you perfectly, both speaking and writing, and I know you understand us as well, yet there are these little subtle differences, and I find that fascinating.
I also would love to visit Portugal one day! I love Brazil and I plan to live and die here, but I think a trip to Portugal would be unforgettable.
Thanks again for your comment, it was a great exchange of ideas!
I need this video. I'm addicted. I know it.
I have no money being a 100% disabled vet
I buy things because it gives me a moment of pleasure (dopamine hit) to alleviate my depression
By the end of the month, I'm eating Ramen and hoping my food supply lasts.
i promise that once you start avoiding ads and block these shopping websites it gets easier with time. i used to be addicted to aliexpress years ago. it was hard for the first month or so but after that i literally forgot about all this crap. also remember to use good adblock. these days im literally un-advertisable to. you can do it too!
I've been antagonistic of the idea of accelerationism ever since I first learned of it. It's incredibly unethical to, in practice, intensify the suffering of people in order to speed up revolution.
politics are at it's core unethical. if you will be an ethical politician, you will either end up being irrelevant or dead. every big political achievement was done with unethical actions
@@jeanivanjohnson Yeah but political violence and the like here and there ≠ diet genocide
@@sandenson diet?
@@jeanivanjohnson I'm not 100% sure about what qualifies a genocide so I went with that but I don't expect it to be right. Either way, it probably does its job at painting an image.
@@sandenson wait are you reffering to genocide by starvation? i never heard it being called DIET genocide before
My partner and I were just talking about political/economical fetishes literally yesterday after watching a speech given by Jason Moore, so this video is very on topic for me. What's interesting about the act of fetishizing, is that it is not limited to commodities or physical objects, but it can be done to concepts as well. When you take the historical and economical context away from concepts, you open the door to co-option by pro-capitalist/colonialist/imperialist forces and propoganda, for example "environmentalism" being used as a weapon by the elite to further oppress the masses.
Also, I'm sorry so many people are nit-picking you over the AI images instead of actually engaing with the topic.
edit: The more I think about it the more ironic it gets... Oh comrade... I am so sorry lol You're doing great work.
I thought Alice used AI in a sarcastic way as I was watching the video. Maybe I was too naive 😅
Alice! i adore your videos and i especially like this one as this is a topic that i’ve thought of for a while. But i am kind of saddened that you used AI imagery in your video :( and i would argue it also plays into commodity fetishism “it’s just an image” “don’t think about all the photographers and artists who got screwed in the process”. I know you don’t have bad intentions, as an artist i just really can’t stand AI stuff like this
exactly just what i wanted to say, thank you for putting in into words
AI is the fast fashion of tech. The machine is trained by people in Kenya who need to look at the most awful content. They often burn out super quickly because it's just too much but aren't mentally supported. AI content moderation is just another form of modern slavery.
Plus, training an AI is also training it for war and genocide purposes. 😢
Hey! I understand your concern, i don't use AI imagery in any of my work but I felt like it would be ironical to use it here just a couple of times given the topic of the video. In case it wasn't clear, my use of AI in this video is purely ironical, it's a sort of criticism of AI since the images are super exaggerated, look really bad and don't bring anything to the story. That's why I added the '?' in the first one and overplayed the dramatic aspect in the 'Georgio' series. The goal was actually to make fun of AI imagery. Satire is the only purpose it serves in that context. I don't plan on using AI imagery in the future because of the ethical problems as you mentioned, it was the first time and again purely contextual and satirical but hey thank you for voicing that concern, it allows me to clarify and keep me in check :)
i came here to say this, and was glad it was already said more eloquently than i could have said it.
The main problem i see with acceleracionism is that letting capitalist contradictions grow greater until the total collapse of itself requires 1) faith and 2) letting millions of people in the most dreadful of sufferings. And in a more indepth critique: why believing that after the collapse will be some kind of communism? Nowadays the radical left movements are weak in the global North and brutally repressed in the South, with no global strategy or actions with structural impact. Is hard to belive that in such state of things the result of collapse would be liberation and not a sort of widespread pseudofascist corporative authoritarian regime of perpetual emergency.
I join my voice with those against the use of ai. It probably is a commodity fetishism as well? Something cheap that looks cool but that is actually bad on several level? There’s probably a video for you to make about the ethics (and absence of) when using ai! Check Karla Ortiz, Jon Lam, and all the big art industry names talking against the use of ai.
C'mon, there's literally 2 AI photos.
You are cherry picking, making noise and not listening to the actual video full of other references.
As a professional artist I hope AI has many trips and falls because if it gets good enough, ethical reasons won't even be on the radar for most companies.
I just want to point out that Marx did like Smith and was very influenced by him, as well with Ricardo, but he disagreed with Smith on certain things. Maybe that was lost in translation.
what made you think that marx liked smith? what made this french girl think that marx didn't like smith? you can be both influenced by and be critical of the same person while not having this sort of "me like" or "me no like" attitude. i will be honest with you, my personality was probably influenced by fascists. does that mean that i like fascism?
@jeanivanjohnson she used the word "like." I didn't use the word. That word comes with baggage. You know that.
Temu has been the bane of my existence for years. Interesting videos as always, Alice. Hope you are well!
How so?
@@s3lfl3ssn3ss All the crap my kids spend their money on.
it's been years? I though they only started last year
*IVE ORDERED MY SOCKS FOR WINTER* the girl is knitting them now for me and they will be finished by the 15th Oct.
They are made of wool recycled out of old jumpers. I'm not doing it to virtue signal - I want knee-length ribbed heavy wool socks for winter so I found a girl who can knit them for me.
Its interesting that you've mentioned your second hand clothes.
A while ago ive noticed that almost all clothes i own are second hand or hand-me-downs. As a man in his 30s I felt somewhat ashamed at first, like everything i own is old and bruised or broken. I knew that i saved money and did not consume any unnecessary products but still. After i discarded the broken stuff all the pieces that stayed were favourites that suite my personality quite well.
Since then im getting compliments for a unique and tasteful appearance which was new at first.
So I developed a sense of pride instead of shame.
It even felt a bit like counter culture thing but I couldn't exactly pinpoint why. This process was for me not just about aesthetic development but also emotional growth. Your explanation of commodity fetish gave me a fresh new perspective to consider while i try to learn more about not only having values but living them and incorperating in daily life.
Thanks a lot for your Essays🐈⬛
OMFG (yeah, F's for Freudian, of course). I'm astonished by the number of people asking Alice not to use AI-generated images. I understand the point, and yes, it might be hypocritical to advocate for workers' rights and empowerment while using a tool that clearly contributes to avoiding paying them for their work and simply stealing it. But the sheer number of comments regarding this one topic (and only this topic) made me think of a few things:
1. Is this sudden-yet interesting and valid-awareness of AI imagery and the harm it causes somewhat comparable to movements advocating for cruelty-free products or those that pushed laws to abolish child labor?
Or is it more like a trendy complaint that follows what's cool and doesn't really care about artists and their work, just wanting to repeat what's being said to be part of a collective? Is this the kind of rhetoric you young people tell yourselves-and others-to feel popular and good about yourselves?
2. Or are these comments just bots spamming? You people repeat yourselves too much to be real humans. xD Anyway, I'm glad for Alice's algorithm, lol.
3. How difficult it is when your audience can't listen (and/or can't comprehend) beyond the surface of something they didn't like, and they deliberately ignore everything you say or do after the "wrong" point, as if they’re searching for a reason to disagree, judge, and cancel the speaker-without caring about their actual message. Maybe they’re bots, or at least they behave that way.
4. All this brings me to the point I actually wanted to comment on: while watching the video, I couldn’t help but think about the people I know and myself, and how, even knowing that some products are affordable only because others are severely exploited, we still buy them because 'it’s a deal.'
We’re talking about everyday necessities or something truly needed, like a fridge because the old one is beyond repair-not fast fashion or other more impulsive ways of consuming. But still, we acknowledge that someone is being exploited to keep these products cheap, and we buy them with joy and relief.
Why? The answer I found is that it's because we are exploited too. And there’s this generalized feeling that we can’t help anyone (and maybe others don’t even deserve our help?), just as no one is helping us avoid being exploited. It’s a selfish but understandable self-preservation mechanism that makes us prioritize our survival over collective well-being. ('If I don’t buy this thing I need now at this lower price, even if the price is low for immoral reasons, I’ll either have to go without something I really need OR end up in debt for another 24 months to be able to afford it.')
5. Where I'm from, there's a common saying: 'La necesidad tiene cara de hereje,' which literally means 'Necessity makes one a heretic.' I might just be too worn down to have much hope left, but I think (and feel) that the way capitalism and governments have divided society, crushed social solidarity, and exalted this 'survival individualism' is quite an effective combo for keeping things going just as they are for as long as humanity lasts…
And yeah, in the meantime, we’re out here protesting against a leftist TH-camr (most of us not contributing financially) using AI imagery to make a video that invites us to think a little deeper.
Let me answer your question. Im not a bot. It's hypocritical. The comments are there cause people are upset. Done
@@isminiunhinged no, it's not hypocritical.
@@jeanivanjohnson why do you think it's not? Her whole channel is about those things
@@isminiunhinged what "those" things?
@@jeanivanjohnson why do you think it's not hypocritical
*I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT HAVE* "commodity fetishism" - I used to.
I grew up shockingly poor, my toy as a kid was a wooden wheelbarrow wheel I used to push around the garden. I REALLY fetishised commodities. A series of bizarre events cured me - thank god.
tell the bizarre events brah
We used to live in a shoebox in the middle of the road. And we were grateful. My father told us stories about a spoon he once saw.
commodity fetishism is a large-scale social phenomenon, not an affliction one individual has
@@internetfox In 2010 my company went viral and suddenly I was worth €6 million. I bought all the stuff you would expect but by about 2014 the novelty had worn off and I was miserable. Sept 2015 I suffered brain damage in a mugging and by the end of 2016 I was bankrupt and homeless.
Im extremely grateful for all of it - I now know what its like to be rich and its not like the movies. It beats being destitute but it does not make you magically happy - that comes from contentment, grom being happy with what you have.
@@s3lfl3ssn3ss I come from Yorkshire as well LOL. But I grew up in a lovely house - it was rented and it was small - but it was beautiful.
Coucou, lève-toi! Alice Capelle a publié une nouvelle vidéo.
C'est génial!
Or 4th option : the birth of a class of cynical consumer perfectly aware of the evil they do while bying on Temu. People are not so embarassed to be those type of 'bully buyer'. The deconstruction of capitalism that you point in Temu may just be one more step in the brutalisation of capitalism, I'm afraid
There are so many instances where I saw people justify using temu or shein while aware of it's negative imapct because "other companies do it too" and "denying me the right to buy a cheap dress is classist, poor people deserve nice things too". And while I agree with both of these points I also saw it as a way of dodging responsibility. Yes, there is no moral consumption under captialims but there are options that are less bad and we should strive to go for them. Mindful consumerism won't fix everything but it can have longer term effects.
There's no difference between a consumer who buys in the supermarket and one who purchases on temu (or any other e-commerce platform, for that matter).
I swear all of your videos articulate something I've felt but never identified.
wife is obsessed with TEMU -_-
My favourite female youtuber. Possibly, the only female youtuber I follow
Seeing all the Temu and Shein hauls online makes me want to cry. Just when I thought that we, as species, are starting to see more and do better and recognize how bad consumerism is for the planet, Temu and Shein rolled in breaking all previous records of mindless consumerism. They don't care one bit if their products are harmful (which, it was proved that these products often contain toxic carcinogenic chamicals), or helpful, or if you like them and use them or not, they only want to sell you stuff again and again and again and more of it and more and more.
Hey Alice! I love your videos but I do hope you'll reconsider your use of AI art. It's not exactly a deal-breaker for me when it comes to being a subscriber and watcher, but I'm not a fan of AI-generated images.
To answer the question: I do think some level of activism and advocacy is important, but I do also think that capitalism will eat its own tail. I think it's our job to ensure that whatever comes along after it is better than what we have.
Yes, came here to comment the same thing on the AI art.
Especially for this video it is kind of ironic
Ah she kind of did it for the bit, she answered the same complaint in another thread. It was used because of the irony and she isn't doing it for any other work.
lol, sure. The art she used was from a model primarily trained on random stock photos, that is painfully obvious. So who is this negatively impacting? Massive stock photo organizations like shuttershock? Who cares dude
@@timmy-oranguta I mean just AI in general isn't the best thing, sure it gets quite picky if people complain about it but the impact on the environment is already a big concern for a lot of people. There are multiple perspectives of Valid criticism in regards to AI
C'mon, there's literally 2 AI photos.
You are cherry picking, making noise and not listening to the actual video full of other references.
Isn't expressing your identity through clothing itself fetishistic behaviour? I mean, yeah, strength and dignity and not buying into the imperialist power relations, but like, you're still an ideological subject of the Spectacle.
the use of ai art for the video is sad to see as i love your content.
lmao got an ad* for amazon on this one
15:00 the question I would have is whether an established mid-range brand is actually any better than Temu at the factory end of things? Unless you have the capacity to do some kind of deep dive into their supply chains.
I hate when I get a Temu add and the song sets stuck in my head 😒
Uuu uu temuuu 💀🔫
not a fan of all the ai art!
Same. Big fan but it's anti-message.
You are too optimistic: most people just don't ask any moral issue when shopping
what is also interesting to me about Temu is the feeling of urgency that they create, you see this in the gamification elements but also in the lack of a favorites section. if you like a product your only option at that point is to add it to the cart. It does not give you the option to put it on the side and think about it. To me this is also a way of keeping the magic alive.
I’m am usually pretty good on my consumption, I have a deep interest in cultural jamming, never shop on Amazon or the mall, entire wardrobe thrifted and hardly ever buy makeup despite loving it. However, I recently realized Hasbro rereleased Littlest pet shop after multiple years of fans begging for them. I randomly saw them at Target (I also despite Target), and suddenly it’s like I turned into a monkey, I immediately dropped over 60$ in less than three days on these animal figurines, why? It’s like I had no thoughts in my brain. I opened all of them urgently, literally ripped all the packaging in my car, I literally couldn’t help myself. I felt so much joy and childlike wonder. At the same time, I feel dumb and irresponsible.
Well, maybe you needed a toy and that is ok. Getting you hooked is their business model but you've noticed it. That's great!
Anarcho-socialism with decentralization, Athenian democracy, de-bureaucratization, and small self-sufficient localized community. Im an accelerationist but we should be careful we don't let this whole thing go totalitarian anything centralist is bad we need decentralized governance so essentially small communities with Athenian democracy and anything large scale be reduced, so local small communities have the most power but if We need large community like a whole country should be true the internet is a modern Athenian democracy tool every one has a phone at this day and this is essentially a voting device in my eyes, but for Athenian democracy we need educated people and people who are healed you don't want people making a decision out of trauma that's bad for humanity so healing and education on a wholistic radical responsibility level is required, so this is my idea of practical solar punk reality, nuclear fusion is need it
We will see how capitalism ends..
TEMU has definitely been an…interesting point of conversation. Can’t wait for the discourse.
ALSO WE ARE SO BACK 🎉
Alice, your videos are such a detailed and interesting analysis into societal issues and real people that AI art takes away from that authenticity.
100%. Even considering the morally reprehensible nature of the AI have sourced all of its material from stolen artwork from creatives, it also ends up hurting out planet through an intensive drain of energy. I love Alice's videos, but as an illustrator, I feel a bit conflicted with her utilizing AI.
@@c7261 The AI art she used was clearly from a model trained on stock photos.
I just stopped the video because of this, and you saved me the time of posting this comment myself.
"authenticity" is a myth.
@@c7261 anything will hurt our planet at this point and a single person not using AI definetely won't have any real impact on this.
I see a 4th way: apathy, and sadly I think it's the most common
I usually like your videos but I really wish you wouldn't use AI images. They're so fake and cheap looking when everything else about your work oozes authenticity.
the irony works for this video though, or is it just me who found it funny ?
Usually love your content but feel like this one was kinda rushed and under-researched. Think you could have said more regarding Temu’s documented history of unethical practices and expanded on points you made a little better. Also didn’t care for the A.I. and using Wikipedia as a source but good job with the quick starter analysis!
Marx said one day we dump milk into rivers to increase milk price, "Government cheese" - Ronald Reagan's signing of the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981, the cheese stockpile equaled more than 2 lb (1 kg) of cheese for each person living in the United States. EU spent over 37 percent of its budget on agriculture. It is contradictory of capitalism subsidies for not producing milk, butter, cheese or corn to keep prices of this product in market exchange as expensive as possible. It is so stupid I always thought subsidies was to stimulate economy. Same with fast fashion. The British luxury brand Burberry brought in $3.6 billion in revenue last year - and destroyed $36.8 million worth of its own merchandise. Burn clothes that already made but it will disturb market. Acceleration or end of the world will be with whimper rather than bang. Slow burning.
Maybe it is accelerate to consume, I always thought of you invent device lets say heat exchanger that requires two times less metal two times less manufacturing cost and labor and is 30% more efficient it is good because 30% less energy consumption it means less of oil and gas. But, no it opposite steel manufacturers want devices that consumes more metal and more oil and gas wants heat exchangers that consumes more oil and gas.
Same with most of glass packing no reuse it goes to shards and never used again as packing. And glass packing factories always running and everyone have a job. Maybe this total inefficiency of capitalism and is biggest contradiction is to everyone have crapy job making things idly but they all running everyone is busy, who cares that we waste resources idly.
Moi je pense qu'on est baisés, que le capitalisme est résilient à quasi toutes actions de disruption. On a beau faire des efforts la confrontation au réel des actions/décisions des gens moins politisés est violente quand on veut être vertueux.
I think capitalism might be like an egregore. As long as the majority of people believe capitalism is our only option it will be our only one. No matter how broken it actually is.
It seems to me that accelerationist views are more prevalent in people who are relatively less exposed to the violence of late capitalism. Further, I am not convinced that accelerationism will actually end capitalism or lead to a more equitable world, it seems more like accelerating towards a cliff. Maybe if we drive faster more people will see the urgency in taking action, on the other hand I fear we may reach the cliff first.
Making a video on Temu, fast fashion and labour abuses and not mentioning China's horrible record on labour practices that enables all of this in the first place. Slow clap, yet another L for the campist left.
Hello, fan but first-time commenter. Good episode! But I worry about focusing on Temu solely, bc at least in the U.S., the scrutiny on them (including the legal scrutiny) is due to racist anti-China policies and xenophobia. I work for Amazon and they have the same practices (and some that are worse) as you note, but i notice many ppl aren't carrying over the lessons about commodity fetishism and Marxism, and instead promote shopping on Amazon instead bc China or Temu are "worse." I know this is not your intention, but want to point out what I'm seeing in America
...helps us make sense of certain PHENOMENA.
jesus, "certain phenomenon"?
Temu wasn't always around in Australia where I live. It was given permission to advertise and operate here in March 2023. I know because I suddenly saw constant ads for it online so I googled where it came from. It's really sad that within that time temu has become popular here. I'm always so disappointed when I hear people I know saying "I got it off temu!" We are so privileged over here and we always fall for these fast XYZ companies. We have a smaller population and less options when it comes to local or national companies. So a lot of people rely on Amazon, temu, etc instead of putting in a little more effort to shop elsewhere or just not buy the random thing they don't really need.
Me parece curioso cómo muchas personas están abandonando redes sociales, porque llega un punto donde psicologicamente no aguantan más, eso hasta ahora empieza pero se va hacer más grande con los años, cada vez más gente saliendo de eso. También creo que el capitalismo se puede destruir así mismo, pero la presión social por un cambio aumenta con los años y las dos son necesarias
I get Temu ads constantly: the one that goes, "Feels like a dream, it's like magic. Now I believe I can have it" creeps me out in a way that the "I'm shopping like a billionaire!" theme doesn't as much. It almost conjures up a sense of innocence, like a Cinderella story with moral justification. "Shopping like a billionaire" evokes more of a Sex in the City impression of consuming fashion where non-wealthy people can pretend they're Carrie Bradshaw overindulging on shoes. Sorry if this makes no sense
@15:16 "exploitation of working class people, often times women" feels weird/redundant. It really shouldn't matter what gender they are. Exploited is exploited.
I once considered buying a handpan from Temu because I can't afford a high-quality one, but ultimately decided against it since it wouldn’t fit in my luggage. However, I wonder if the concerns about supply chain issues and exploitation related to Temu are genuinely valid or just media hype, especially with U.S. businesses facing tough competition. Temu has managed to keep its profit margins very low, much like many Android phone manufacturers compared to Apple, which enjoys a nearly 40% profit margin. According to a 2023 report, Temu is operating at a loss as they prioritize market penetration. It seems like they might be using consumers as testers to refine their products over time.
I would feel gross buying off that website.
Temu basically uses slave labor to produce their products. very low pay, very long work hours, very few safety regulations in the workplace, and some of these factories even have suicide nets on them.
Americans shopping off of timu is just another example of American gluttony. It doesn't matter the process necessary to make the thing, as long as I have the thing.
The same thing goes for furniture, cars, food, any commodity, it's all mass-produced and there is some form of exploitation in that process. after it was public information that Amazon was abusing their employees, and paying them a very low wage, and union busting, I immediately stopped my Amazon prime subscription. it may seem like a very insignificant thing to do, but the only power that people have is the power of consumption.
now that we're faced with the genocide in Gaza, it is become very clear what companies support genocide and what companies don't. It has made shopping difficult, but I now take pride in my choices.
If you really understood how deep it goes, you could never eat food from a big grocery store, or buy clothing from a chain, or buy ANY technology, ever again...
- Buy local food, from farmer's markets, or grow your own. Learn to cook.
- Buy thrift clothing. Learn to dye and sew.
- Buy technology second-hand, or do without.
@@TwisterTornado Buddy, I understand how deep it goes. There is no ethical consumerism. This is why I rarely leave comments because of people like yourself. I shouldn't have to comment the complete annotated version of how consumerism in the united states is never ethical; that is a extremely deep rabbit hole. You understood my point but decided to bring in a strawman.
@@codylujan I did not expand your comment, because I am a woman, and I consider "buddy" to basically be intended as hate speech.
I love your videos, but please don't use AI generated images :/ I don't think it's worth it and it cheapens your videos
😂😂😂 Oke , and you shouldn’t use tech like smartphones computers or laptops , go read books , that should work for you very well 👌
@@zainzoala1083bro u fr? Ai images steal from other creators. Its not the f same
@@isminiunhinged and other creators steal from other creators. so?
And smartphones are made out of the underdevelopment of the global south. Don't be so cherry-picky and learn of what Alice is trying to argue. The video is full of other references.
@@jeanivanjohnson huh? Who are those creators you think are stealing and why do you say they do? I would love to see mentions and evidence.
Yes, I got an ad for T*mu at the start of this video lmao 🙃
Oh and the banner at the bottom.
(Not saying this has anything to do with Alice, its all T*mu and youtube)
Commodity fetishism in the post war boom age I think operated slightly differently than it does today or than it did in marx's time,
. Part of commodities' magical power in the early hyper consumer age resided in the idea that the magical Wonka / Santa clause capitalist that had sold you your candy commodity for a pittance was a kind of utterly benevolent despot who both shared that benevolence with you for a pittance AND kindly saved their own workers through the gift of gainful employment in the factory. Even when you here Milton Friedman speak about the "magic" of the price model (say, in his infamous pencil video), he still emphasizes all the labor that went into making each component of a given cheap commodity (though of course, he doesn't tell you why each component or the final product is so cheap). In short: neoliberalism hid the true cost and exploitation of labor by painting a false image of a cornucopia where everyone would partake, not only because of cheapness and abundance, but the gift of "jobs jobs jobs". With globalization, the facade has peeled back a bit: everyone seems to have some awareness that their cheap crap was made in a sweatshop or plantation somewhere, and that those exploited sweatshop and plantation workers probably replaced some once better paid workers elsewhere whose factory closed. The trick has been to alter slightly the image of the Wonka man: wonka no longer kindly rescues the oompaloompas from a life of indigency and slavery through kinder slavery, he no longer just gives you the keys to the factory because you're pure of heart: he barks at you to be an "alpha/sigma/gigga chad", and to hussel more on your uber app, and "be your own billionaire/entrepreneur": I think that's why temu's nonsensical, obscene slogan, "shop like a billionaire," works brilliantly: it seeves to update the commodity fetish in an age where the gold paint it used to have has started to peel off: its almost a confession to the exploited hyperconsumerist masses: you are not nor will you ever be a billionaire, but you can still have as much useless crap as one because our prices are so cheap you won't even care about inflation, or the fact that can't pay your rent, while you're using our app. That's the trick today: the old Wonka myth doesn't work: you know full well why it's so cheap: someone somewhere is getting screwed, but you do it anyway because you'd be a sucker not too. It is no coincidence temu arrives in the same stage of capitalism as trump and his xenophobia/anti cosmopolitanism.
I think that "the capitalist world will eventually dismantle itself" requires some people to be class conscious and activist enough to prop up an alternative when it falls --- or the nation would just retry capitalism.
I am not a huge fan of Temu itself but I also feel like there is a sense of misunderstanding and Temu gets unfairly targeted for a lot of things. I used to live in China for a bit and cheap fashion and homeware in China are supposed to cost Temu price there (there are a few similar other e-commerce sites too). This is due to the fact that the cost of living is lower than in many western countries and the wage of labor is also generally lower. Of course it is not great because of the income inequality, working class people could earn more, but it's due to a range of economic factors historically that can't be characterised as simple as slavery. I was actually very surprised that things that are of the same quality on Amazon, ebay etc. are sold 5 times the price compared to similar items on Chinese e-commerce sites, despite multiple evidences showing they might be even made in the same factories. With the same price you pay for something on Amazon you can get stuff that are already much better quality in China in fact... Many multinational corporations based in Europe probably earn a lot more from selling low cost stuff much more than they should, and I think that is more, if not equally evil than businesses like Temu. The whole system seems to be broken by capitalism already when labor started to be outsourced into countries where people earn less wage, and Temu is just a byproduct of it, not the root cause. Of course as consumers we should purchase consciously and choose ethical business as much as we can. But I find it a bit lazy when people just throw these buzz words at one e-commerce business without understanding the problem is much deeper and complex than what it seems on the surface.
Temu seems to turn peoples brains Off somehow. My sister has been complaining about some stuff she Ordered for her Kid being garbage. Turns out it was some temu Gadget that cost less than the shipping. And i was Like....
On what Planet did you think that this Thing could ever be of good quality? It is logically Impossible for sth this cheap to be working properly. The Material cost alone makes No sense
And ive Seen that Happen with my mum too, who taught me Not to buy cheap crap because it wont Last. But sth about temu Just bipasses that thinking and goes straight to "Looks cheap and cute, must have!"
The wait 24hrs technique is really good. Impulse purchases are often the most wasteful I find.
I've just conditioned myself so hard seeing this type of behavior, nobody needed to make this video for me to get creeped out by such behavior.
A few weeks back, i watched some girl's cooking short (i like learning new recipes and tricks), and she actually had to stop recording to put batteries in a pepper grinder. Seems innocuous, except literally everything she used in her kitchen in the video required batteries or recharging. Not a single tool she used works without electricity.
And if your kitchen experience can't be done with a knife, a slab of wood, a pot and some fire, you're sort of missing the point. I guess that's why i've always loved outdoor cooking stuff.
Alice please dont use AI Art. It's really obvious you used it at 5:38.
Why not?
Because AI models were fed individual creators art without their consent and those companies are subsequently making money off of the creation of ai-generated images which use those stolen works as source data.
Ouch. You're correct. AI art literally robs artists
@@MomirsLabTechwhat’s the difference between that and an artist making something that is heavily influenced by another artist’s work?
We should make it so that artists can't look at other artists art. Otherwise they may get ideas and become creative and make art influenced by another artist.
I hate that people didn't understand the ironic tone AI brought to your video. Where's the wittiness inside those people's minds?? I am sorry for the criticism. At least for me it was crystal clear. Great video.
A sub group of commodity fetish is the collectible hoarding.
A lot of geek friends around me buy figures, books, collector's ed. games etc...
They hoard these items, sometimes to show off how dedicated they are in their fandoms.
As a fellow geek of many fandoms, I decided years ago to make sure if I buy something, it will actually be used. If it is just for display, I don't buy it.
Even with that rule, I still have many books, figures and cards of old and dead games around but at least I know that they served a purpose and they have memories on them.
You appear to have found the blemish in the one way mirror. You can see through it! That's the prime marketable commodity :) . The ability to be unaffected by the ravening of commercialism - who wouldn't want that?! You noticed it feeding on you. I do, too, most of the time - but I've taught myself that the mouth parts seem incredibly sad and unfulfilled. Once you notice how depressed the suckers are it's hard to not see it.
I look forward to your exploration of the psychological aspect of consumerism. Why do people feel so soothed? by these videos of taming chaos with capital? What is going on? Should it be as frightening as it is?
Luv your output. But I think you said, "Haha moment"? It's actually. "Aha moment".
As in, "AHA! I'll mansplain this to Alice and she'll think all the better of me for it!" Sorry, maybe it'll help with the algorithm?
Planet Critical blog this week was also on fast fashion too. Coincidence or are you gals in cahoots?
CONSPIRACY! CONSPIRACY!
Hey Mme Cappelle! Thanks for your thorough analysis. I really enjoyed it.
I wanted to elaborate a bit on right-wing accelerationism (15:41). I think it is actually much more insidious than "violence against minorities," although that is probably the end goal.
Rather, just like left-wing accelerationists see TEMU-esque capitalism as self-destructive, right-wing accelerationists see "left-wing tenets" like uncontrolled migration, gender ideology, and anti-racism to be inherently unsustainable.
Therefore, in a surprising twist, right-wing accelerationists actually welcome open borders, biological males in women's sports, and government mandated exclusion of Whites and Asians in upper education based on affirmative action, because these policies are seen to disrupt communities and demoralise the public, thereby galvanising a strong political opposition (cf. the rise of Florida governor Ron "destroyer of woke" DeSantis).
Thus, in the nihilist view of right-wing accelerationists, the worse it gets, the quicker society can undergo a violent revolution and emerge on the other side as a reformed polity dominated by right-wing sensibilities.
Fantastic video as always Alice! Temu grosses me out in much the same way as fast fashion companies such as Shein. Those types of companies are only operational because they use poor labour practices (if not actual slavery) and toxic materials to produce cheap goods that are made to break shortly after purchase, thus people have to buy more stuff to replace the items that broke.
The under consumption trend on tiktok is really topical at this current moment.
good video,
but I still have no idea how you can even guess where and how is a product manufactured at the time of buying it.. how can one tell that the french store selling gadgets didn't just get the gadgets from temu and you are just paying basically higher price only so the french retailer can buy a new car, and not paying for better workplace for people actually making gadgets.
so far nothing even remotely in this world convinced me that they are not just adding more layers between manufacturer and retailer so they can have plausible deniability by saying "look we are buying from local company" or stuff like that, often no proper proofs of "humane manufacturing" is provided and even then you have no means to track down the chain for each component of the gadget they are making. steel? computer chips? packaging? who made those?
I guess only one thing is always true, there is no moral consumption under capitalism (not implying there will be, under something else)
Très informatif. I am usually not an easy target to products that "help" with organization, but I have to ve more careful with anything tech related because I fall for those so easily. I think that's also something to think about, what areas are you more easily influenced on, and what strategies can you implement to filter those impulses?
Nice topic and loved the way you explained everything. I think it is so ironic that you used AI generated images when talking about commodity fetishism - it is the prime example of the same concept in the digital/media/art space. Pretty much every single thing that you spoke could fit for AI generated art as well. In this comment, I'm mainly going to provide my thoughts on that.
(I see that you made a clarification in the comments. But i already wrote this up, so well, have fun reading!)
For some background, I'm not against AI, in fact I am an AI researcher. Generative AI (GenAI) is only one type of AI. You can have an AI model that predicts the weather tomorrow, translate text to another language or identify the plant species in a photo.
As endusers, we input a text prompt into GenAI models and easily get images to fit our exact requirements. So convenient to use and takes so little effort. The companies that have developed these models don't disclose any information about what data (images/text) was used to train these models. It is known that the data was simply scraped from the internet - without obtaining any consent from the creators and without any means to opt out from their data being used. One could argue that data is the new oil that powers these models. Companies are exploiting people from countries that have limited or no laws on data privacy. Not so different from colonialism [3]. For instance, Meta accepted that they used all posts on their platforms from users in Australia [1]. Recent inquiries have brought to light the exploitative work conditions of data workers and content moderators in less privileged countries [2].
The very term "artificial intelligence" gives a sense of "magic". Few years back, academics would call them "statistical models" or "machine learning models". Now, every model, small or big is called AI - because AI is the buzzword that sells - brings better VC funding for startups and gets users excited because they expect something amazing. GenAI as it is offered today is not economically sustainable. If the AI bubble primarily inflated by GenAI bursts, it will also impact other forms of AI by association. This relates to your thoughts on "too much magic kills magic".
I'm not going to get into the environmental impact of large GenAI models. That's a whole other topic and here's a good source to learn more about it - [4].
My thoughts about your final question - Accelerationism is also accompanied by accelerated power and wealth accumulation by a few and even if capitalism collapses, I think it will be the powerful few that will decide the future. So, I think activism is essential for "the others" to have a say in the events that unfold, to take control of the future that we envision for ourselves.
[1] Meta admits it scraped all Australian Facebook posts since 2007 to train its AI ( www.techradar.com/pro/meta-admits-it-has-scraped-all-facebook-posts-since-2007-to-train-ai )
[2] Data Workers’ Inquiry ( data-workers.org/#Inquiries )
[3] "Data Grab- The New Colonialism of Big Tech and How to Fight Back" - Book written by Ulises A. Mejias and Nick Couldry.
[4] Sasha Luccioni, Bruna Trevelin and Margaret Mitchell. "The Environmental Impacts of AI -- Policy Primer" ( huggingface.co/blog/sasha/ai-environment-primer )
I haven't read a lot about accelerationism and perhaps I'm distorting it, but it seems to me that it's just devoided of any real content. It's weird to say that we should push capital further. Isn't it already accelerating? I cannot make sense of it. It seems to prescribe something that's already happening.
To answer the question raised: No, I don't hink Temu will spell the end of capitalism, not as such. Resource depletion will, and yes, Temu will definitely help accelerate that. In a way, capitalism will kill itself, but it will also bring civilisation and the ecosystem down with it.
I would like enough money to buy Etsy and put it back the way it was - vintage and handmade goods only.
I think that combined with the global north’s focus on financialization and venture capital, when the nominal (or exchange) value of commodities becoming sort of artificially inflated (like the 2008 crash), the real (or use) value of commodities will eventually catch up. Therefore I don’t think we can rely on this part of capitalism to end capitalism (if that makes sense). Also side note; accelerationism is also a branch of white supremacy, I know that’s not what was mentioned in the video, but I wanted to let you know!
13:07
I do think it is worth acknowledging the enjoyment of buying things because we often talk about unnecessary spending as a shameful thing only. if you're trying to convince someone to consider another viewpoint using only the shame tends to work less than acknowledging you understand why they enjoy the bad thing they are doing.
Funny coincidence that I got an E-commerce ad for this video.
Also, my response to the TEMU situation: #Acceler8
My take is that accelerationism isn't really necessary because accelerating is what capitalism already does. The system is built off the pursuit of eternal growth. Which is of course impossible to maintain, but the pursuit will demand acceleration in order to sustain itself. I think the best course of action is to connect with people directly. There will always be people willing to close their eyes and buy exploitive products. I think the best approach is to try and reduce that group over time through exposés and education.
Capitalism has weaseled it's way into our world as potatoes did into the daily life's of middle age peasants. It has brought some comfort into people's life's, and this is the reason why I don't put any of my chips on activism as a method to terminate it. Most people don't care about capitalism's consequences. They work, they get paid and enjoy their life with the money they deservedly earned and who can judge them? Activists, even with honorable intentions, are perceived as carefree individuals with no real world responsibilities, even if not the case, and are portrayed as a nuisance to other consumers instead of to the system. People will not support those who want to ruin their enjoyment, they will support those who grant them comfort and entertainment.
As for capitalism's selfmade demise... If that happens, we'll all go down with it.
This is my opinion, but I wish it weren't so. I really hope humanity proves me wrong.
Now I'm sad :(
I have a legitimate question about fast fashion, and I have done quite a lot of research and reading and it all feels so hopeless. EVEN "well built" or "non-fast fashion" things seem to be "found out" that they are also using sweat shops and exploitative practices. SO what do I do? It sometimes feels incredibly hopeless. I legitimately have a small wardrobe by choice. I have a "uniform" of sorts that I wear, but other than just buying second-hand and keeping consumerism minimal, it seems there isn't much we CAN do. Do I just continue to do what I am currently doing? Is there more I can do? Legitimate questions and things I'm always thinking about.
Temu can bite me. TH-cam too. Have a nice day. Don't buy ANYTHING.
16:15 - I think there's a 4th option that you didn't directly mention and that I see much too often, I would say more than the denial and fetishization. That is "choosing apathy".
When seeing the low prices and rationally knowing that nothing can really be that cheap without massive consequence to workers and/or environment, many people choose just not to care. "I'm just one person, I can't make a difference anyway so might as well shop" or "these people would get exploited anyway, at least they have a job" or some other apathetic thing to comfort and distance themselves from the implicitly moral choices they are. It's the same with the climate crisis. So many people seem to choose apathy, feeling they are just a drop in a bucket and can't make any impact anyway. Now I fully agree with the notion that the fault is with the governing powers and the capitalistic system we live under, and not with individual people. And to an extent I agree that the idea of "voting with you wallet/carbon footprint" etc is quite silly in the grand scheme of things. HOWEVER, when people choose apathy and choose to overindulge in consumption habits that nobody should realistically have if we are to continue existing on this earth, I'm get worried that those people will be resistant to changing their habits if the governing powers or systems demand they do. And if the people resist, the change will not happen.
Wasn't Smith like a century before Marx? Not much of a contempery, is he?
activism is a thing you can do if you want to feel you did what you could with your life and did not yield to apathy or fear of ostracism. I think it's unlikely to end capitalism because wealth is power and wealth vests with the capitalists, and the masses (who theoretically have collective power) are too busy surviving and competing with one another (and have dreams of being a capitalist one day). In these "end times" fear and uncertainty _amplify_ the desire for magic: simple, quick "solutions" to huge, complex problems. Capitalism will most likely bring itself down, like a cancer mindlessly killing its host, but it's not clear whether there will be much left to rebuild from, when it does. Michaela Loach's (sp?) message is very well crafted though. Probably more _motivating_ than doom or misery would be.
A very interesting way to interpret what commodity fetishism is. I would stress, that the "magic" does not obfuscate just the social and working relations hidden behind a product, but also it's environmental impact. You mention it, but I would really stress this even further. Every product requires energy and raw materials to build, thus it requires extraction and devastation of nature somewhere on the planet, and also emission of greeenhouse gasses. Each product that we buy, but that we don't actually need, means a damage to the environment that could be avoided.
When Temu first came out, their stupid slogan "shop like a billionaire". It upset me, because, we're like billionaires. We can't shop endlessly with no consequences, that is the problem with Temu, it gives the feeling of consequence-free shopping.
think youer points are very solid in this video but the thing is: Temu show the contradictions of capitalism because is too cheap? I mean, almost every major brand of fashion (H&M,ZARA, Primark) use the same cheap Labor or worse than temu (remember Rana plaza in Bangladesh?)but their prices while cheap, by no means to the level of chinese brands. And if it is true some criticism was made, its no where near what Shein or TEMU is getting.
I think the fact that for once chinese brands are Challenging western dominace over commodities and culture (Because commodities have a great impact in culture, not only because fashion is a cornerstone of any culture, but because advertising and brand recognition are central to S.XXI western capitalist culture ) is getting a lot of people nervous.
4:24 I love your videos!!! But I do see something I want chime in on. Marx saw himself as continuing the work of Smith. He viewed Smith as a great theorist, materialist, and that Smith simply fell under the spell of early capitalism. Marx closely read the Wealth of Nations and admired the work.
I've found that when I don't follow Instagram accounts that push a lot of products, and I'm not on TikTok, my desire to buy things drops to zero. To think that the apps and the accounts on the apps have that kind of power over me is kind of crazy.
Your question at the end is something that has been on my mind for decades, and it still just breaks my mind 😞 I feel the need to fight it just as powerfully as I feel it is hopeless..... I'm super stupid though. Probably because I'm surrounded by other stupid people 90% of the time I'm around other people. It's intensely demoralizing.
Ouh yeah the ring ring bell noticing a video of Alice Capelle. Is like a pavlonian stimulus for the postestructural marxism
What’s with the use of these hideous AI images Alice? I can only assume you’re testing us. BTW “Georgio” is a very odd way of spelling the Italian name Giorgio.
This topic hits hard! I always have a list of things that I'd like to have. Some I do need but some I just want. I mostly do my purchases with reasoning so I would not buy anything in vain. And when that something is something I really want but really don't need it really is an emotional drain. For an example I'd like to buy a new bike but I really don't need it and I don't have time to ride just for fun. So when I decide to not buy it, I feel. well depressed is a bit strong but a little down. It is curious.
The problem with Temu and their ilk is that, even when governments decide to act, they only target the most extreme actors. They may kill Temu but Wish and AliExpress and Shien and the rest will remain unharmed. If anything, Temu's extreme helps to hide the quiet violence of the other platforms that aren't as insane. A few years ago, Amazon was insane, then AliExpress was unbelievable, then Wish and now Temu. Now that the government is finally acting, the goalpost has moved so far that targeting Amazon feels crazy, even though Amazon was considered to be an extreme example not that long ago.
Hi, I am not from france and hence have been hearing of Temu for the first time. Is possible Temu is itself subsidizing the products or have way thinner margins to penetrate in the market and would in the long term increase those prices and make it same as those on amazon. Temu was founded in 2022, so considering it's been 2 years, this might be possible.
I am skeptical about Tumu's low prices in the long term because other companies are exploiting the workers in the third world countries to the maximum. It's not something which specific to Temu. So assuming amazon is able to sell a tshirt made for $10, that price tag includes labourers' time which amazon is already paying as little as possible) + cost of raw material(which itself would be labour time, but let's no go further into it for now) and after that if it's making $3 as profit. That minimum profit is required by amazon to sustainably grow their business and get that graph go up. If any company tries to sell it for $8 for the tshirt, that tshirt still costs $7 to make but the profit on that is low and wouldn't be sustainable about investor's funding.