What is the Perverse Incentive behind “Close Enough is Good Enough”?
A few months ago, there was a good article written on the prevalence of chabuduo (roughly translated as “close enough”) mentality in China. A mentality widespread among the nation’s craftsman, it is responsible for countless examples of shoddy manufactures that together plague the reputation for “Made in China” both at home and abroad. The article argues that the persistence of the chabuduo mentality, so ingrained in modern-day Chinese economy but largely absent historically in its ancient civilization, presents itself as a massive obstacle for the country to move up the value chain.