John D. Giorgis
> At 05:03 PM 1/26/01 -0800, Kristin wrote:
> >I didn't say I hated all corporations! I'm just plain suspicious of them
> >because they are dangerous power structures. Corporate people complain
> >that the *government* is bad, but don't recognize that they are part of
ap
> >ower elite themselves.
> Why are they dangerous power structures? If anything they are benign
> power strutuctures. Few other societal institutions are as beholden to
> the wishes of the people. If the corporation stops providing a product
> that the people want, they go out of business and lose their power. Its
> as simple as that.
The following is an extract from my reply to your original reply to Kristen.
If you don't understand any point please ask and I shall try to simplify or
expand on it.
But please don't ask the same question twice in less than a week.
The sole purpose of the corporation is to make money. There may be
corporations who are controlled by socially responsible people but if there
is a conflict between profitability and social good, profitability will take
precedence or those people will soon be unemployed. All individuals do not
necessarily put social responsibility before their own financial goals but
there are major differences between individuals and corporations.
Corpns are immortal, do not have a conscience or a "soul", are not social
animals requiring approval and acceptance and are prevented by their nature
and definition from being altruistic.
They can absorb other corporations, becoming omnipresent and perhaps
eventually omnipotent.
They can divest those parts of themselves that incur potential liabilities
or get caught in criminal activities or have a negative social image. Or
they can rename such parts, relaunching them as a supposedly new and
separate corpn with PR and propaganda campaigns.
[....never tiring, never yielding, never finishing, new beginnings,(:>) ]
They can not be jailed for criminal behaviour.
Despite these differences, corpns have used their financial power to gain
the same rights as individuals and spend billions on propaganda to convince
people that they are not just another member of the community but a
"socially responsible" caring and valuable member of that community . Laws
restricting corporate behaviour have been eroded so that they increasingly
have similar rights to individuals such as free speech which results in
manipulative and dishonest advertising as well as soft political campaign
financing. As just another (albeit extremely powerful) member of the
community, they enjoy the same freedoms that individuals enjoy despite them
being not subject to the same social controls that are applicable to
individuals such as shame, remorse, social rejection or incarceration.
Because the mainstream media is controlled by corporations, crime is defined
as being committed by individuals and corporate propaganda attempts to
undermine government influence supposedly on individual rights but the main
objective is avoidance of further government regulation of corporate
activity. Given that government is either the Democrats dependent on
corporate money, or the Republicans dependent on corporate money, there is
little incentive for legal (government) restraint on corporations. Given
that corporations face no social, cultural, or self restraint, is it
surprising that their prime objective of making money causes social problems
because making money is a lot easier if one has no social responsibilities,
few competitors and no conscience.
Bob.
"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied
corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of
strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
-- Thomas Jefferson
