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I think Cory Doctorow put it aptly: > Corporations run on a form of code – financial regulation and accounting practices – and the modern version of this code
by Voultapher 3y ago
I think Cory Doctorow put it aptly:
> Corporations run on a form of code – financial regulation and accounting practices – and the modern version of this code literally prohibits corporations from treating human beings with empathy. The principle of fiduciary duty to investors means that where there is a chance to make an investor richer while making a worker or customer miserable, management is obliged to side with the investor, so long as the misery doesn’t backfire so much that it harms the investor’s quarterly return.
Source https://locusmag.com/2015/07/cory-doctorow-skynet-ascendant/ https://locusmag.com/2015/07/cory-doctorow-skynet-ascendant/
- gregwebs 3y agoThat’s not the full story. Corporations have charters that include things other than a return for investors. Investors also don’t care about maximizing returns as long as expected targets can be hit.
- Voultapher 3y agoCan you point me to substantial evidence that corporations side with their customers or employees when doing so is in conflict with their bottom line? I can point to examples that validate my point. 1. Facebook: https://apnews.com/article/facebook-whistleblower-frances-haugen-4a3640440769d9a241c47670facac213 https://apnews.com/article/facebook-whistleblower-frances-ha... 2. Apple: https://www.ifixit.com/News/82493/we-are-retroactively-dropping-the-iphones-repairability-score-en https://www.ifixit.com/News/82493/we-are-retroactively-dropp... 3. Youtube: adding more and more advertisements to each video even after they became profitable 4. Purdue Pharma and Pharma in general: The opioid crisis in the US 5. Volkswagen: Dieselgate I can list many more, but I think you see a pattern.