5 ms·

I wonder if it would be possible for the whole world and all activities to end up being "owned" by one company?

Arcsech 9y ago
I believe this is part of the premise of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. That said, whether it's one company or a few that are well-aligned doesn't really matter for the purposes of that book.
- chrisco255 9y ago
  Probably the most realistic of the dystopian novels I've read and way ahead of it's time.
- LeoPanthera 9y ago
  The world most people think described by "1984" is actually described by Brave New World.
  - garrybelka 9y ago
    It's actually described by We.
  - digi_owl 9y ago
    The way i see it is that both had it partially right. BNW for those that conform, 1984 for those that don't.
tpeo 9y ago
Why the quotes?
- basicplus2 9y ago
  I can accept a person closely related to and caring for their land to have some notion of ownership, but a corporation who only uses land without consideration for it or the local animals that depend upon it, and only cares for profit cannot "own" something that is essentially timeless and really belongs to noone but the universe. Its like ants squabbling over owning mount everest.
- zo1 9y ago
  Because they can "own" your website in terms of control, yet not actually own it under that specific concept. E.g. Google threatens taking away ad monetization if you don't remove certain "questionable" content (according to them). They don't own your site, but in that case they're controlling it. And here it is in action: https://milo.yiannopoulos.net/2017/08/google-threatens-conservative-website-greatshuttering/ https://milo.yiannopoulos.net/2017/08/google-threatens-conse...
fragmede 9y ago
A look at South Korea's relationship with Samsung would prove informative if we expect an all-powerful corporation sometime in our future. Samsung (Electronics) is known for making cellphones, under the parent conglomerate, Samsung (Group) makes pretty much, well, everything. From construction cranes and vehicles under Samsung Heavy Industries to providing healthcare under Samsung Medical Center to all sorts of insurance under Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Samsung Life Insurance.
mjevans 9y ago
The fictional world in Wall-e explores that premise; sort of. It's kind of strange seeing the CEO of a company as the president of everything...

I believe this is part of the premise of Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. That said, whether it's one company or a few that are well-aligned doesn't really matter for the purposes of that book.

chrisco255 9y ago
Probably the most realistic of the dystopian novels I've read and way ahead of it's time.
LeoPanthera 9y ago
The world most people think described by "1984" is actually described by Brave New World.
- garrybelka 9y ago
  It's actually described by We.
- digi_owl 9y ago
  The way i see it is that both had it partially right. BNW for those that conform, 1984 for those that don't.

tpeo 9y ago

Why the quotes?

basicplus2 9y ago
I can accept a person closely related to and caring for their land to have some notion of ownership, but a corporation who only uses land without consideration for it or the local animals that depend upon it, and only cares for profit cannot "own" something that is essentially timeless and really belongs to noone but the universe. Its like ants squabbling over owning mount everest.
zo1 9y ago
Because they can "own" your website in terms of control, yet not actually own it under that specific concept. E.g. Google threatens taking away ad monetization if you don't remove certain "questionable" content (according to them). They don't own your site, but in that case they're controlling it. And here it is in action: https://milo.yiannopoulos.net/2017/08/google-threatens-conservative-website-greatshuttering/ https://milo.yiannopoulos.net/2017/08/google-threatens-conse...

fragmede 9y ago

A look at South Korea's relationship with Samsung would prove informative if we expect an all-powerful corporation sometime in our future. Samsung (Electronics) is known for making cellphones, under the parent conglomerate, Samsung (Group) makes pretty much, well, everything. From construction cranes and vehicles under Samsung Heavy Industries to providing healthcare under Samsung Medical Center to all sorts of insurance under Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Samsung Life Insurance.

mjevans 9y ago

The fictional world in Wall-e explores that premise; sort of. It's kind of strange seeing the CEO of a company as the president of everything...