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It’s troubling that this statement is so overtly unserious. Has YC and its surrounding culture become so insulated that they cannot see the obviously self-defea
by ForrestN 8y ago
It’s troubling that this statement is so overtly unserious. Has YC and its surrounding culture become so insulated that they cannot see the obviously self-defeating through-line in this statement?
“Our mission at YC is to enable more innovation than any other company in the world, and to ensure that the benefits of that are fairly spread throughout humanity.”
Do you really think it’s possible to ensure that the benefits of innovation are spread fairly while simultaneously partnering with an oppressive, cruel government in order to create vast pools of wealth controlled by a tiny subset of individuals allied with that government?
I can understand why someone would try to get as rich as possible and would turn a blind eye toward obvious moral compromise. I can also understand the utilitarian impulse to “ensure that the benefits of [innovation] are fairly spread throughout humanity.” But I can’t understand ignorance of the wild contradictions between those two “missions.”
If you want to spread innovation equally, you should be working to support dissident voices in China and you should be putting 95% of you and your associates’ vast personal wealth behind the political project of reversing Republican-engineered inequality here at home.
Helping people in China who you deem most likely to succeed (working in harmony with the government, of course) to become even more successful is not, in fact, helping to make the distribution of benefits among humanity more fair.
TL:DR — Choose only one: fairness among humans or the accumulation of vast personal wealth by collaborating with governments that brutally oppress their own citizens.
- justicezyx 8y agoThere are majority of society and economic activity that are neutral to policitics. Why cannot YC improve invocation by focusing on those areas?! If your dad said harsh words to you, are you going to claim that you are made inferior to normal citizen or you are working with a repressive parent?
- mattigames 8y agoWhen you help a country get richer and that country has a history of human right violations you are aiding the tyrants running the country even if you declare yourself "neutral to politics" and even if you have the best of intentions.
- justicezyx 8y agoIsn't China's human rights situation got vastly improved with its improved economy?
- Sporktacular 8y agoNo, it hasn't: "One Million Muslim Uighurs Have Been Detained by China, the U.N. Says. Where’s the Global Outrage?" https://theintercept.com/2018/08/13/china-muslims-uighur-detention/ https://theintercept.com/2018/08/13/china-muslims-uighur-det...
- justicezyx 8y agoOK OK Seems no country improved in terms of human rights. I cannot continue this nonsensical discussion.
- Sporktacular 8y agoSome have, but the topic is China. If you want to generalise it would make more sense to pick better examples.
- ForrestN 8y agoEvery successful business deal done in concert with a given dictator entrenches that dictator's power. Some other commenter demonstrated the technique elsewhere in this discussion: "but the dictators have lifted so many Chinese people out of poverty!" Through this deal, YC is taking an active position in support of the Chinese dictatorship and is helping them increase their grip on power.
- justicezyx 8y agoSure, that's a good point. But as I said, there is reasonable motivation to try to help the people genuinely. At least let them have better internet services; not the shitty ones from BAT...
- carapace 8y ago> There are majority of society and economic activity that are neutral to policitics. You may believe that but the communists do not.
- justicezyx 8y agoThe question is how non-communists think.