3 ms·

When businesses become so large, they no longer are a $countryOfOrigin company (A US company in the case of Apple). They become multinational entities that have

When businesses become so large, they no longer are a $countryOfOrigin company (A US company in the case of Apple). They become multinational entities that have no loyalty to a nation, just loyalty to pocket books.

bmitc 5y ago
That is an excellent point and one I have tried bringing up before. Allowing corporations and individuals to obtain such massive amounts of wealth is a national security threat.
- smt88 5y ago
  It is also a personal security threat and democracy threat. See also: http://expatalachians.com/biplanes-over-blair-calling-in-the-air-force-for-the-mine-wars http://expatalachians.com/biplanes-over-blair-calling-in-the...
  - bmitc 5y ago
    Yes, by national security I meant anything that country holds important (government, people, resources, etc.).
- dopa42365 5y ago
  Ah yes, THE nation. Very specific, especially in this context.
  - bmitc 5y ago
    You're unnecessarily reading into it too much. By nation, I meant whatever nation houses one of these corporations, particularly the country that houses the headquarters.
- brutal_chaos_ 5y ago
  As well as a disproportionate effect on the political systems, tax evasion, and so forth.
- hindsightbias 5y ago
  Arthur Jensen, 1976, would like a word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35DSdw7dHjs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35DSdw7dHjs
bell-cot 5y ago
From news stories of the past decade or few - I was not aware that even mid-sized companies, operating near-exclusively within $countryOfOrigin, showed much actual loyalty to said country.
- brutal_chaos_ 5y ago
  That's a fair point. However, that doesn't change the situation, that merely highlights the severity of the problem, IMHO.
president 5y ago
The scary thing is that nobody in any position of power seems to want to do anything about it and we seem to be past the point of no return.
pembrook 5y ago
Small companies don’t have loyalty to any specific nation either. Nor should they. Companies should serve customer needs and wants (profits are a measure of this), not become soldiers in political battles. I’m confused as to why people think this is an $insightfulComment. Would you rather have countries wall off their economic activity from each other so governments have to bomb each other to acquire resources by force? Any economic intertwining of Chinese and American interests is a good thing, no matter how evil you think the Chinese are. Because the inevitable alternative is war (re: all of human history). Historically, the only thing that prevents tribes of human animals from blowing each other up is mutually beneficial economic cooperation.
- mperdemata 5y ago
  > Historically, the only thing that prevents tribes of human animals from blowing each other up is mutually beneficial economic cooperation. That's correct, until someone thinks that he is being screwed and does not see mutual benefit. Mostly what Lenin explained in "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism"
434123r32f 5y ago
Not really, they are listed on NASDAQ, a US-based stock exchange regulated by the SEC (also US)

bmitc 5y ago

That is an excellent point and one I have tried bringing up before. Allowing corporations and individuals to obtain such massive amounts of wealth is a national security threat.

smt88 5y ago
It is also a personal security threat and democracy threat. See also: http://expatalachians.com/biplanes-over-blair-calling-in-the-air-force-for-the-mine-wars http://expatalachians.com/biplanes-over-blair-calling-in-the...
- bmitc 5y ago
  Yes, by national security I meant anything that country holds important (government, people, resources, etc.).
dopa42365 5y ago
Ah yes, THE nation. Very specific, especially in this context.
- bmitc 5y ago
  You're unnecessarily reading into it too much. By nation, I meant whatever nation houses one of these corporations, particularly the country that houses the headquarters.
brutal_chaos_ 5y ago
As well as a disproportionate effect on the political systems, tax evasion, and so forth.
hindsightbias 5y ago
Arthur Jensen, 1976, would like a word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35DSdw7dHjs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35DSdw7dHjs

bell-cot 5y ago

From news stories of the past decade or few - I was not aware that even mid-sized companies, operating near-exclusively within $countryOfOrigin, showed much actual loyalty to said country.

brutal_chaos_ 5y ago
That's a fair point. However, that doesn't change the situation, that merely highlights the severity of the problem, IMHO.

president 5y ago

The scary thing is that nobody in any position of power seems to want to do anything about it and we seem to be past the point of no return.

pembrook 5y ago

Small companies don’t have loyalty to any specific nation either. Nor should they. Companies should serve customer needs and wants (profits are a measure of this), not become soldiers in political battles. I’m confused as to why people think this is an $insightfulComment. Would you rather have countries wall off their economic activity from each other so governments have to bomb each other to acquire resources by force? Any economic intertwining of Chinese and American interests is a good thing, no matter how evil you think the Chinese are. Because the inevitable alternative is war (re: all of human history). Historically, the only thing that prevents tribes of human animals from blowing each other up is mutually beneficial economic cooperation.

mperdemata 5y ago
> Historically, the only thing that prevents tribes of human animals from blowing each other up is mutually beneficial economic cooperation. That's correct, until someone thinks that he is being screwed and does not see mutual benefit. Mostly what Lenin explained in "Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism"

434123r32f 5y ago

Not really, they are listed on NASDAQ, a US-based stock exchange regulated by the SEC (also US)