Jane Jacobs said that one measure of a healthy economy is the choice it provides. A healthy economy provides abundantly at affordable prices; an unhealthy economy does not. Another sign of economic health, she said, is innovation: A healthy economy includes a constant stream of new products — nothing lasts forever. People in Norway are far richer than people in China right now, but what will Norwegians do when the oil runs out?
In contrast, my Beijing shopping revealed that Chinese entrepreneurs have been able to develop products that the rest of the world will want to buy.
1. Electric bikes. They’re everywhere in Beijing. They cost $200-$400 and a few cents per mile, far cheaper than gas. I would have brought one back to Berkeley but inability to fix it stopped me.
2. Keyboard covers for laptops. Transparent silicone plastic. Easy to clean. How did I live without one? These are a new product in Beijing, actually, but they are very cheap, about $1. I can find them for sale on the internet for about $15.
3. Cordless floor sweepers. They use a rotating brush to clean the floor instead of a air pump, as a vacuum cleaner does. That they are cordless makes them very easy to use. In Beijing they are obvious and attractive; I bought two and brought one back to Berkeley. In America I’d never seen them for sale but after I knew they existed I managed to find an unattractive one in Berkeley hidden deep in a hardware store. The price (about $50) was roughly the same in Beijing and Berkeley, except the Beijing models are much nicer.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all three products are “environmental” broadly conceived. Beijing air is dirtier than Berkeley air; my keyboard cover and my floors get dirty a lot faster in Beijing than in Berkeley. I think they are a sign of hugely-important things to come — China inventing and selling the products we need for a cleaner world. It’s been called the next industrial revolution; a better name would be the second half of the industrial revolution in which we clean up the mess left by the first half. As Jane Jacobs often said, the problem is not too many people, the problem is the undone work.
i wonder how much the differences in chinese to american culture have to do with contagion–one thing was popular early on and everyone adopted it and didn’t look for an alternative.
Keyboard condoms are ubiquitous in Japan. They have them for popular mice designs also.
By the way, I’ve also seen the sweepers, but they aren’t popular because they really only work well on carpet, and then only if you have expansive empty areas to accelerate them “up to speed.” So in other words, Japanese living quarters aren’t ideal for them. In Japan you may have little paths less than a meter wide snaking through your house, with furniture or boxes or other clutter taken up the rest of the room. Small electric vacuum cleaners are more practical for reaching under all this stuff.
On electric bikes, they’re expensive in Japan compared to the normal kind, so they’re not that popular, but every time I see one I wonder if it wouldn’t be better to have lower gears on the bike. Japanese bikes are 1 gear most of the time (at most 2 or 3). This is great for getting a workout, but if it’s a strain for someone, rather than an electric bike, how about a 5- or 10- or 15-speed bike? Maybe the market is older people for whom derailleurs are technologically too complex?
Mark, my electric sweeper works great in my Berkeley apartment. As for electric bikes, in Beijing they are ridden by lots of young people.
Is this the laptop cover you’re talking about?
https://cgi.ebay.com/universal-Notebook-laptop-Keyboard-skin-cover-protector_W0QQitemZ250347842907QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Laptop_Accessoreis?hash=item250347842907&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1234|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50
yes, that’s an example of the universal cover, which works fine.
Does this mean you’re “back”, or just in town for a visit?