News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on The China tea trade was a paradox of global capitalism. Parent comment

Re:The China tea trade was a paradox of global capitalism by clairity on Monday May 25, 2020 @02:19PM (#23303395)
none of those assertions provides any relevant rationale for huge pre-existing demand prior to the british desire to extract riches in exchange for drugs.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The China tea trade was a paradox of global capitalism by solidsnack9000 on Monday May 25, 2020 @02:42PM (#23303625)
Demand for opium was on the upswing in China before the British entered the trade.

The British did not have a power to manufacture demand in China and in fact could not place personnel in China. British opium was smuggled into China by Chinese merchants.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The China tea trade was a paradox of global capitalism by clairity on Monday May 25, 2020 @03:12PM (#23303928)
again, all assertion, no rationale.

besides, the british didn't need to be in the interior of china en masse to induce demand.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:The China tea trade was a paradox of global capitalism by solidsnack9000 on Monday May 25, 2020 @03:36PM (#23304142)
I don't have a rationale for the increasing demand for opium in the 1700s -- I don't know why it was increasing -- but it is well documented.
[ Parent | on HN ]