11 ms·

And the bad things your country does (whatever country you're in and whatever your politics) aren't pervasive and fundamental to your country's relationship wit

And the bad things your country does (whatever country you're in and whatever your politics) aren't pervasive and fundamental to your country's relationship with its citizens? (I'm not a Facebook apologist. I think they deserve every bit of criticism they get. I just think the previous poster makes a solid point.)

zepto 8y ago
I think it’s an interesting analogy, but it’s also a fundamentally flawed one and doesn’t apply. That problem does exist with countries. The mechanisms for trying to fix that with regard to countries, are things like democracy, revolutions, investigative journalism, and international pressure. We tend to be conservative about how we try to change our countries because most people’s livelihoods and even lives depend on our decisions. This is absolutely not the case for a social media company. It’s just a capitalist corporation. One of the asserted benefits of capitalism is that we have competition and companies can simply fail if they don’t serve our needs or be shut down if they end up being harmful. I.e. We have to tolerate countries that do bad things and the struggle to fix them is long and hard, because the costs of a failed state are enormous. Unlike with states, don’t have to tolerate bad companies, in not tolerating them, we create the opportunities that lead to something better emerging.
- nickelcitymario 8y ago
  Well said! Thanks for expanding on that. I fully accept your argument.
twinge 8y ago
It's a lot harder to change citizenship than it is for a Facebook caliber engineer to change jobs. jwz says it best: > If you work for Facebook, quit. It is morally indefensible for you to use your skills to make that company more powerful. By working there, you are making the world an objectively worse place. I'm sure you can find a job working for a company that you don't have to apologize for all the time.
- nickelcitymario 8y ago
  Good point!

zepto 8y ago

I think it’s an interesting analogy, but it’s also a fundamentally flawed one and doesn’t apply. That problem does exist with countries. The mechanisms for trying to fix that with regard to countries, are things like democracy, revolutions, investigative journalism, and international pressure. We tend to be conservative about how we try to change our countries because most people’s livelihoods and even lives depend on our decisions. This is absolutely not the case for a social media company. It’s just a capitalist corporation. One of the asserted benefits of capitalism is that we have competition and companies can simply fail if they don’t serve our needs or be shut down if they end up being harmful. I.e. We have to tolerate countries that do bad things and the struggle to fix them is long and hard, because the costs of a failed state are enormous. Unlike with states, don’t have to tolerate bad companies, in not tolerating them, we create the opportunities that lead to something better emerging.

nickelcitymario 8y ago
Well said! Thanks for expanding on that. I fully accept your argument.

twinge 8y ago

It's a lot harder to change citizenship than it is for a Facebook caliber engineer to change jobs. jwz says it best: > If you work for Facebook, quit. It is morally indefensible for you to use your skills to make that company more powerful. By working there, you are making the world an objectively worse place. I'm sure you can find a job working for a company that you don't have to apologize for all the time.

nickelcitymario 8y ago
Good point!