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What happens when corporations have more practical daily influence over people's lives than the government? This is a problem. Is it our Achilles heel?

missedthecue 6y ago
I see that as a good thing. Macy's can't force me to do anything. The federal government can. I'd prefer Macy's to have more influence in my day to day life than the business end of a gun.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  “Corporations” and “business end of a gun” are not mutually exclusive mechanisms of power.
dragonwriter 6y ago
> What happens when corporations have more practical daily influence over people's lives than the government? Impossible, because while corporations are a vehicle through which private individuals act, they are a creation and extension of government power. While the power exerted through corporations is not proximately controlled by people who are particularly accountable to the public for their actions, it is nevertheless government power, and thus the power exerted by corporations can never be greater than that exerted by government, because the former is a subset of the latter.
- supernova87a 6y ago
  You don't think that a corporation, even now, can exceed the ability of its employees to disagree with what it's doing? Like lobby for legislation that protects (or makes paramount) the corporate interests, even though the people within the corporation might completely object to what is being lobbied for? I think we underestimate how much people are willing to do what their employer requires to continue to be employed, and end up doing things that are totally legal, but not desireable in the long run.
  - dragonwriter 6y ago
    > You don't think that a corporation, even now, can exceed the ability of its employees to disagree with what it's doing? I'm not sure why you seem to have interpreted the word “government” in what I said to mean “employees of the corporation”? I assure you that when I said “government”, I meant “government”.

missedthecue 6y ago

I see that as a good thing. Macy's can't force me to do anything. The federal government can. I'd prefer Macy's to have more influence in my day to day life than the business end of a gun.

dragonwriter 6y ago
“Corporations” and “business end of a gun” are not mutually exclusive mechanisms of power.

dragonwriter 6y ago

> What happens when corporations have more practical daily influence over people's lives than the government? Impossible, because while corporations are a vehicle through which private individuals act, they are a creation and extension of government power. While the power exerted through corporations is not proximately controlled by people who are particularly accountable to the public for their actions, it is nevertheless government power, and thus the power exerted by corporations can never be greater than that exerted by government, because the former is a subset of the latter.

supernova87a 6y ago
You don't think that a corporation, even now, can exceed the ability of its employees to disagree with what it's doing? Like lobby for legislation that protects (or makes paramount) the corporate interests, even though the people within the corporation might completely object to what is being lobbied for? I think we underestimate how much people are willing to do what their employer requires to continue to be employed, and end up doing things that are totally legal, but not desireable in the long run.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > You don't think that a corporation, even now, can exceed the ability of its employees to disagree with what it's doing? I'm not sure why you seem to have interpreted the word “government” in what I said to mean “employees of the corporation”? I assure you that when I said “government”, I meant “government”.