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I've never understood why governments (or labor unions) default to "corrupt" and private firms default to "virtuous".
by minikites 8y ago
I've never understood why governments (or labor unions) default to "corrupt" and private firms default to "virtuous".
- cortesoft 8y agoI mean, lots of people think both are corrupt.
- prewett 8y agoIt seems to be that if you lean Republican, governments are corrupt and private firms virtuous because freedom and the magic of the Invisible Hand of free markets make private firms virtuous (individual choice) and governments corrupt (coercive force). If you lean Democrat, then governments are virtuous and private firms corrupt because the free market doesn't solve all the problems, and for those you need regulation (government: coercive force). In fact, the regulated free market leads huge wealth disparities, which leads to social problems, and since private firms that are seeking to maximize their wealth disparity, obviously they must be corrupt. Naturally, neither of these pictures is right, or rather, they are both partly right.
- Retric 8y agoI don’t think that’s accurate. Companies and individuals benefit from outsourcing government work, that creates a huge incentive to paint government as incompetent. The US military which hands crazy money to private firms is viewed very highly by the Republican’s and less so by Democrats.
- rectang 8y agoPower corrupts when governments extend excessive control over markets. Power corrupts when private firms extend excessive influence over government. The most consistent principle is to oppose concentration of power in all its forms.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- Pristina 8y agobecause private firms make money by making things people want and every consumer is by choice. government makes money by threatening you with violence (pay tax or go to jail) and its subjects are so rarely by choice, and if by choice, it's between one government and another.
- Tepix 8y agoThe goal of the government is not to make money. That's why people suggest to let the government run the nuclear power plants. Unlike a for-profit corporation, governmental organizations have little incentive to save money for maintenance by cutting corners.
- beaconstudios 8y agoit's more like both are made up of individuals with high self-interest. The difference is you can choose not to interact with a private firm.
- minikites 8y agoI thought about this in the wake of the BP Deepwater oil spill. How exactly can I choose to avoid interacting with any company that produces a fungible commodity (e.g BP, Archer Daniels Midland, Monsanto)? I can stop visiting BP branded gas stations but that has nothing to do with where the oil/gasoline actually comes from.
- beaconstudios 8y agoI agree, that's an issue. Or if you wanted to stop funding exploitative mining but still wanted to own electronics, you might have a hard time. But I prefer the "you can often avoid interacting with them" option of private companies, to the "you cannot avoid them and are entirely at the mercy of their whims" option of government. Not to say government isn't necessary - it is. But I don't understand why people treat it as virtuous, especially when those same people will express distrust in politicians. I suppose it's because government is the only way to legitimately force one's will on others.
- isostatic 8y agoI prefer the ability to get rid of a government by voting elsewhere.
- randiantech 8y agoMainly because most governments around the globe have the monopoly of public force, creating the perfect ground for arbitrary decisions. Its not black and white, by those defaults seems accurate.
- minikites 8y agoAre there private firms that don't make arbitrary decisions?
- moduspol 8y agoPrivate firms aren't inherently "virtuous," but their motivations are at least clear. A business seeking to maximize financial returns for its owners isn't "corrupt," it's "working as expected." The corruption of governments and labor unions often results in unexpected financial and non-financial returns for various people in ways that are more difficult to detect and measure.