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Businesses don’t really exist? That's like saying feelings don't exist: they're just constructs that we come up with to explain our reactions to situations. I s

Businesses don’t really exist? That's like saying feelings don't exist: they're just constructs that we come up with to explain our reactions to situations. I suppose that's true to a degree, but something doesn't need to be made of atoms to be "real". Businesses exist in as much as they are the primary determinant of most people's lives. They shape our cities, our media, laws, politics, foreign policy and have a huge impact in just about everything else that matters. Real or not, it has _real_ impacts all around us. Outside of OSS, I think it's pretty clear that the entity that's footing the bill gets to make the call on how things get made. Even if that's: bad for said entity, bad for the user, bad for the public generally, the environment, etc. (of course, there's industry and governmental regulations, but by and large the company calls the shots).

bee_rider 3y ago
> Businesses exist in as much as they are the primary determinant of most people's lives. They shape our cities, our media, laws, politics, foreign policy and have a huge impact in just about everything else that matters. By this standard, ancient religious figures (now mostly regarded as mythological) exist. Thor, or Zeus (if anyone is a pagan here, I don’t mean any disrespect to your beliefs, but let’s think about whichever one you don’t believe in). > Real or not, it has _real_ impacts all around us. Sure. But people were much more devoted to these figures than any business! Religious wars were fought, people lived and died for these gods. But some of these figures still were imaginary. Being imaginary doesn’t mean they aren’t important. But it means they don’t have interests. In reality, these organizations (religions, businesses) have members, users, and leaders/owners, and the business is an abstract representation of those people. That’s why it doesn’t make sense to ask whether “the business,” which exists entirely as an abstraction for some of their interests, ought to be prioritized above or below them.

bee_rider 3y ago

> Businesses exist in as much as they are the primary determinant of most people's lives. They shape our cities, our media, laws, politics, foreign policy and have a huge impact in just about everything else that matters. By this standard, ancient religious figures (now mostly regarded as mythological) exist. Thor, or Zeus (if anyone is a pagan here, I don’t mean any disrespect to your beliefs, but let’s think about whichever one you don’t believe in). > Real or not, it has _real_ impacts all around us. Sure. But people were much more devoted to these figures than any business! Religious wars were fought, people lived and died for these gods. But some of these figures still were imaginary. Being imaginary doesn’t mean they aren’t important. But it means they don’t have interests. In reality, these organizations (religions, businesses) have members, users, and leaders/owners, and the business is an abstract representation of those people. That’s why it doesn’t make sense to ask whether “the business,” which exists entirely as an abstraction for some of their interests, ought to be prioritized above or below them.