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Actually, in many ways they are. It's one reason the US is in a superior position today vs other countries. Some technology would not happen at all without star
by sillysaurus3 10y ago
Actually, in many ways they are. It's one reason the US is in a superior position today vs other countries. Some technology would not happen at all without startups, such as airbnb.
You don't need to go far to find reasons why regulation can be a terrible thing. Here's an example from five hours ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14103008 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14103008
If regulation is so bad, why are there so many people stamping out any opposition to regulation, and reacting with expressions of shock and disbelief that anyone could be against them?
Because in recent years, it's become fashionable to hate business. You see it everywhere, from /r/LateStageCapitalism (a subreddit whose explicit purpose is to hate rich people the same way some people hate minorities), to the PR outrage at Uber (who certainly deserved it, but now everyone is gleefully waiting for Uber to burn), to this creeping distaste for anyone who would seriously consider startups' interests over the interests of the individual.
- dagenleg 10y agoI sincerely hope you belong to the class of people making money off skimming regulations and immoral business practices. You know, one of the people who benefits from US being what US is. One of the 'rich people' Because if you are not, if you are actually one of the plebs, this adoration of the corporate boot and arguing against your interests as a customer is pretty sad.
- sillysaurus3 10y agoI read 1984 when I was in my teens, and I remember being let down by it. It was so outlandishly comical that it was impossible to take it seriously. Then I was incredulous that more and more people were saying 1984 was starting to match reality. Remember the "daily hate"? That's pretty much what's going on here. Not only do people thoroughly enjoy the act of hating something, but entire communities form whose explicit purpose is to do this. And of course, no one wants to admit that they're hating people, so they construct comfortable euphemisms and say they're hating systems, not people. It's a "corporate boot," not a person. It's much easier to frame anyone who interrupts your daily hate as an outsider than to face the reality of what you're doing.
- ItendToDisagree 10y agoFAKE NEWS! WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN AT WAR WITH EURASIA! You misunderstand 1984 bigly. SAD.
- dagenleg 10y agoSo your point is that we should not criticize despicable business practices, because those businesses are headed by people. And we should not 'hate' people because that is bad, I guess? Definitely, next time we catch Nestle aggressively pushing their formula in Africa or private prison companies bribing judges to jail kids for minor offences I will stay my outrage. Of course, the companies are not just faceless abstracts, they are people, that absolves them of all the guilt.
- unwind 10y agoWhat is the new innovative technology that AirBnb has delivered?
- stass 10y agoThey delivered an innovative business model. Not every company is a technology company.
- TeMPOraL 10y agoWell, excuse the business hate, but people are being fucked by various "entrepreneurs" daily. From startups "socializing risk, privatizing profits", through planned obsolescence, crap products, to daily shenanigans like your corner grocery store washing their stale meat with dishwashing fluid to make it smell fresh. Many of us have seen the giving end too, being a witness of such policies at our workplaces. So I apologize if I don't trust a random business by default. I definitely distrust startups by default, because their typical business model is this: lie to people telling them you care about your product, where in fact all you want is to make growth curves good enough for a profitable exit, and fuck users after that. As for Uber, yeah, I'm gleefully waiting for them to burn down and die - not because it's fashionable (it wasn't when I started waiting) - it's because their business practices have no place in a civilized society, and the longer they're alive, the more damage to the public perception of the rule of law they do.
- FridgeSeal 10y ago> Because in recent years, it's become fashionable to hate business Hmmmm, funny that, I can't imagine it has anything to do with people being fed up with being ruthlessly and endlessly fucked by businesses for so much as a minor gain on their bottom line. Being in favour of regulation != Implying that all regulation is good and perfect. Regulation can be hard to get right, but it's there to protect the interests of the public (which should necessarily override any corporate interest). Case in point: we now need net neutrality regulation, to ensure that we preserve (ironically) some of the very things that make the internet so great: low barrier to entry, fair and equal access etc etc. Want to know what happens when uber squeezes it's competition out and then runs out of VC money? They'll shamelessly extort the money out of the consumer. So yeah, I'm pretty happy to watch them burn. > creeping distaste for anyone who would seriously consider startups' interests over the interests of the individual. But why are they so deserving? What makes a startup special that they would be preferenced above people and communities? > /r/LateStageCapitalism (a subreddit whose explicit purpose is to hate rich people the same way some people hate minorities) If by "hating rich people" you mean "taking issue with rampant exploitation of people and resources by corporations", then yeah, is say they have some pretty legitimate complaints. > Some technology would not happen at all without startups, such as airbnb Right, because only startup culture would have come up with the revolutionary idea of a bedsit. Truly an idea we've never before had in history.