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Margaret Thatcher (in)famously said that there was no such thing as society. By that she meant that, actually the only thing out there is individuals looking af
by mytailorisrich 4y ago
Margaret Thatcher (in)famously said that there was no such thing as society. By that she meant that, actually the only thing out there is individuals looking after their own self-interests.
Well, it is the same with companies.
In both case this leads to suboptimal results at 'system level' (a well-known problem in system optimisation).
- wwweston 4y agoThatcher's advancement an individual self-interest oriented worldview is certainly advantageous/correct for her to say politically. But the name for the 'system level' of a collection of interacting individual humans would be ... society. Her statement is also deeply incorrect that individuals are solely interest-driven -- they're also value driven (though I suspect like many effective politicians she damn well knew that regardless of what she said). Of course, with companies, her statement is significantly more apt.
- kazen44 4y agoThatcherism has little basis in actual sociology in my opinion. Societies do exist, and humans are not purely selfish rational beings either.
- unity1001 4y ago> Thatcherism has little basis in actual sociology in my opinion. The entire basis of Thatcherism is dodging tax on riches made by selling the entire society.
- mytailorisrich 4y agoHumans are not rational but you can bet that they will act in their perceived self-interest more often than not. They will always do in the workplace, which is the point here.
- chris_wot 4y agoA Thatcherite view of the world and humanity is unsustainable over the long term. It causes a hideous, selfish and cruel society.