[tenpies]

And yet, this has happened since we've been around.

One of the most ancient examples of the written words we have is from a copper merchant complaining about the quality of the ingots he received[1]. The tablet could just as easily have been a complaint about the quality of honey purchased.

This is a reversion to the mean.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complaint_tablet_to_Ea-nāṣir

[aucisson_masque]

I'd argue there is much more fraud with product coming from china than what is locally produced. Fraud always existed but now it's more prevalent than before, simply because some countries don't really try to enforce simple rules.

For instance, Chinese mother refuse to buy powder milk in china since there has been so much fraud. Manufacturer put melamine (a plastic chemical) in powder milk for years to make them appear with more protein than reality, inducing kidney damage to newborn.

That kind of thing doesn't happen in civilized society, this require a complete lack of morality and wide corruption.

[diggan]

Maybe Ea-nāṣir was also too focused on profits, thinking more about shareholder value than the customer.