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That assumption doesn't bear out in practice, in my experience. There are plenty of people who believe that for-profit businesses can also achieve great, positi
by swombat 10y ago
That assumption doesn't bear out in practice, in my experience. There are plenty of people who believe that for-profit businesses can also achieve great, positive purposes in the world, and want to be a part of it.
Cases in point: Tesla and SpaceX. They aren't charities. They are very purposeful.
- vonmoltke 10y agoCharity vs. for-profit is a false dichotomy. A charity is a specific form of non-profit. In addition, there is the (relatively new) benefit corporation which, while technically for-profit, has explicit non-financial goals. That said, nothing about being motivated by money means you can't have a purpose as well. That's why I was careful to draw a distinction between "solely" and "primarily". Making money while also improving the world is just enlightened self-interest.
- Phlarp 10y agoTesla and SpaceX are both massive exceptions to the rule, not examples of the norm. You are not Tesla or SpaceX.
- brianwawok 10y agoAnd in fact if you want to write code that goes to space, you have 4 or 5 options top in the US? Vs many other business models (webapps for music) there may be 50 or 100.
- lgieron 10y ago> Cases in point: Tesla and SpaceX. They aren't charities. They are very purposeful. Those are just two companies, ran by the same guy. I think finding even a couple dozen more examples would be very difficult.
- swombat 10y agoHave a look at the companies listed halfway down the page on http://danieltenner.com/open-cultures/ http://danieltenner.com/open-cultures/ . Not all qualify as purposeful orgs, but quite a few do. Reinventing Organisations, mentioned on this page too, is a book that studies a dozen examples of purposeful, open culture organisations, if you're interested in learning more about this.
- rhizome 10y agoFunnily enough, Elon has a reputation for paying below market.