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> what are corporations not doing well? This is a fair question, but it should be accompanied with another one: what do the corporations do well? Will our alte

> what are corporations not doing well? This is a fair question, but it should be accompanied with another one: what do the corporations do well? Will our alternative option make some things worse? What's our criteria of success and what's our backout plan if the criteria of success is not met by a certain timeframe?

keenmaster 6y ago
I don't disagree with any of that. Corporations do many more things much better than government. That is always a premise of mine, and I usually don't state it explicitly in these kinds of debates. If anything, corporations themselves should be begging the government to spend more on basic research. If it doesn't, it will not reduce taxes by the amount that it doesn't spend. It will merely reallocate research funds to pure defense or some other lower return endeavor. There is a symbiosis between capitalism, innovation, and government. Capitalism without good governance turns into crony capitalism. Innovation would decline without adequate and competent* government expenditure (*historically there's no reason to believe that the government is incapable of profound basic research - quite the opposite). Good governance without a culture which appreciates market economies can slowly devolve into bad governance and a basket case country.
- bergstromm466 6y ago
  > Capitalism without good governance turns into crony capitalism What are some signals you watch out for, with this?
  - keenmaster 6y ago
    - Antitrust enforcement - Industry concentration - Degree of divergence between popular will and policy (thanks Citizens United) - Level and direction of inequality - Bargaining power of labor (automation does not fully explain the cratering of this bargaining power) - Level of corporate profits (compared to the past) Generally, I'd also look at the correlation between increased productivity and happiness. If, in aggregate, we're producing more year by year, and yet people are becoming more miserable and anxious, something is wrong.

keenmaster 6y ago

I don't disagree with any of that. Corporations do many more things much better than government. That is always a premise of mine, and I usually don't state it explicitly in these kinds of debates. If anything, corporations themselves should be begging the government to spend more on basic research. If it doesn't, it will not reduce taxes by the amount that it doesn't spend. It will merely reallocate research funds to pure defense or some other lower return endeavor. There is a symbiosis between capitalism, innovation, and government. Capitalism without good governance turns into crony capitalism. Innovation would decline without adequate and competent* government expenditure (*historically there's no reason to believe that the government is incapable of profound basic research - quite the opposite). Good governance without a culture which appreciates market economies can slowly devolve into bad governance and a basket case country.

bergstromm466 6y ago
> Capitalism without good governance turns into crony capitalism What are some signals you watch out for, with this?
- keenmaster 6y ago
  - Antitrust enforcement - Industry concentration - Degree of divergence between popular will and policy (thanks Citizens United) - Level and direction of inequality - Bargaining power of labor (automation does not fully explain the cratering of this bargaining power) - Level of corporate profits (compared to the past) Generally, I'd also look at the correlation between increased productivity and happiness. If, in aggregate, we're producing more year by year, and yet people are becoming more miserable and anxious, something is wrong.