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What is the source of this implied responsibility? What is the reason behind it? We might hope that they would do the right thing, but our desire doesn't bind
by sbuttgereit 10y ago
What is the source of this implied responsibility? What is the reason behind it? We might hope that they would do the right thing, but our desire doesn't bind them to deliver our wishes to us... even if it is in their best interest to do so.
When we use a Facebook or a Twitter, we (the public) accept the product they offer. True enough, if we find out we don't like the deal we can threaten to walk away if there is no change. But these companies don't have a responsibility, implied or otherwise, to better us, cater to any of us, or fulfill someone's vision of social good. It would be nice if they delivered on these things (of course my vision of what that means) but it is not their responsibility to do so. If I don't like that with sufficient intensity, my one valid recourse is stop using their services.
- nitrogen 10y agoWhat is the source of their right to seek an empire in the first place? At root it's the social contract of the society whose members they seek to enlist. The source of the implied responsibility of beneficence is the fact that without assuming such a responsibility the acts of a corporate empire are likely to be destructive to the long term interests of the society. By (for example) controlling the social network, they leave members of the society with limited choice not to participate, and thus the implied responsibility of beneficence in exchange for that removal of choice.