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You have to think about it. If Apple were a type of government, what type would they be? Wait, Ill let you guess. Socialist Dictatorship. Think about how cl

You have to think about it. If Apple were a type of government, what type would they be? Wait, Ill let you guess. Socialist Dictatorship. Think about how closed they are as a system... Would you really want a Socialist Dictatorship running your country?

jsz0 16y ago
What type of company wouldn't be classified as a socialist dictatorship in your analogy? Government and business are two entirely different things. (another good reason to be skeptical of politicians who run on their experience as a CEO)
aaronblohowiak 16y ago
Depends on who is in charge. Not sure if it fits your description, but Singapore is analogous for Apple, and I'd live there.
- mortenjorck 16y ago
  Not to belabor the analogy, but... Flash == chewing gum?
stanleydrew 16y ago
This is a pretty flame-y comment. There's not much use in this comparison. It only serves to ignite the Apple fans and detracts from what could be an otherwise great conversation about this particular event.
- dejb 16y ago
  I don't get how mentioning the political angle of the sentiment expressed in the parent post somehow makes it flamey. Both platforms and governments represent ways of coordinating the productivity of numerous participants. Although there are differences it seems reasonable to think that lessons learned in one sphere may very well transfer to the other. If you believe that central planning is the most effective method for a platform (both hardware and software) then isn't it reasonable to ask why this wouldn't translate to the wider economy as well?
  - natrius 16y ago
    It's not a useful comparison. Companies aren't run like governments, where democracy is usually held as the ideal. The comment wasn't useful, but it was inflammatory. I don't think the commenter had bad intentions, but I agree with stanleydrew's judgment.
    - theBobMcCormick 16y ago
      I've actually been wondering a lot lately why isn't democracy held as an ideal for companies? With the amount of power that large corporations have, why do we as a society not hold them to higher standards and require them to be governed more democratically?
      - ThomPete 16y ago
        Because the nothing would ever be done.
        theBobMcCormick 16y ago
        Then why do we run countries that way? If "benevolent dictatorship" is good enough for giant multinationals, why isn't it good enough for nations? If it isn't good enough for nations, why is it good enough for multinationals that have as much or more power than many nations?
      - wan23 16y ago
        They often are. In many large companies shareholders elect board members, and delegate their voting power to them. They effectively run the company democratically. Even though they don't actually manage the day to day affairs of the company, the C-level officials who do can be fired by the board so it's not totally unlike a parliamentary system.
deleted 16y ago
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jsz0 16y ago

What type of company wouldn't be classified as a socialist dictatorship in your analogy? Government and business are two entirely different things. (another good reason to be skeptical of politicians who run on their experience as a CEO)

aaronblohowiak 16y ago

Depends on who is in charge. Not sure if it fits your description, but Singapore is analogous for Apple, and I'd live there.

mortenjorck 16y ago
Not to belabor the analogy, but... Flash == chewing gum?

stanleydrew 16y ago

This is a pretty flame-y comment. There's not much use in this comparison. It only serves to ignite the Apple fans and detracts from what could be an otherwise great conversation about this particular event.

dejb 16y ago
I don't get how mentioning the political angle of the sentiment expressed in the parent post somehow makes it flamey. Both platforms and governments represent ways of coordinating the productivity of numerous participants. Although there are differences it seems reasonable to think that lessons learned in one sphere may very well transfer to the other. If you believe that central planning is the most effective method for a platform (both hardware and software) then isn't it reasonable to ask why this wouldn't translate to the wider economy as well?
- natrius 16y ago
  It's not a useful comparison. Companies aren't run like governments, where democracy is usually held as the ideal. The comment wasn't useful, but it was inflammatory. I don't think the commenter had bad intentions, but I agree with stanleydrew's judgment.
  - theBobMcCormick 16y ago
    I've actually been wondering a lot lately why isn't democracy held as an ideal for companies? With the amount of power that large corporations have, why do we as a society not hold them to higher standards and require them to be governed more democratically?
    - ThomPete 16y ago
      Because the nothing would ever be done.
      - theBobMcCormick 16y ago
        Then why do we run countries that way? If "benevolent dictatorship" is good enough for giant multinationals, why isn't it good enough for nations? If it isn't good enough for nations, why is it good enough for multinationals that have as much or more power than many nations?
    - wan23 16y ago
      They often are. In many large companies shareholders elect board members, and delegate their voting power to them. They effectively run the company democratically. Even though they don't actually manage the day to day affairs of the company, the C-level officials who do can be fired by the board so it's not totally unlike a parliamentary system.

deleted 16y ago

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