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Agreed and good that someone else mentions this specific point. It's common to rail at large multinational corporations and their acts of ineptitude, malfeasanc

Agreed and good that someone else mentions this specific point. It's common to rail at large multinational corporations and their acts of ineptitude, malfeasance and outright destructiveness in some cases but many of these complaints leave implicit that if only some other kind of large organization had managed the same X or Y, things would have turned out better. Why? There's no innate quality of any government or NGO that makes either somehow less likely to ruin something or cause harm than is the case for a corporation. For many governments, given their local monopoly on control and greater lack of clear financial accountability to a specific bottom line, malfeasance is if anything more likely. The Aral sea is one glaring example of this, but there are many, many others.

eightysixfour 1y ago
> For many governments, given their local monopoly on control and greater lack of clear financial accountability to a specific bottom line, malfeasance is if anything more likely. I am going to guess you and I have some underlying philosophical differences. I fully believe in the power of competitive markets, however, the primary market structured around profit is not always (or even often) the best for global scale issues. Given that we cannot appropriately price externalities nor enforce them, we often want organizations which are motivated socially or by values. The trade off in efficiency is irrelevant. I don’t want a company seeking maximum efficiency in some areas, I want things that are driving for stability or durability. Or social good. Or other measurements. You actually said it best: > If anything, large multinationals are about the best run businesses on the planet. Yes, but they’re businesses, not everything is a business problem.
- eru 1y ago
  > I am going to guess you and I have some underlying philosophical differences. I fully believe in the power of competitive markets, however, the primary market structured around profit is not always (or even often) the best for global scale issues. Profit might not be a particularly good incentive, but the others are worse. > Given that we cannot appropriately price externalities nor enforce them, we often want organizations which are motivated socially or by values. Just waving your wand doesn't automagically make any organisation (government or otherwise) motivativated socially or by values. See eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_choice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_choice > The trade off in efficiency is irrelevant. I don’t want a company seeking maximum efficiency in some areas, I want things that are driving for stability or durability. Or social good. Or other measurements. Sure, but just stating that desire that doesn't make it happen.

eightysixfour 1y ago

> For many governments, given their local monopoly on control and greater lack of clear financial accountability to a specific bottom line, malfeasance is if anything more likely. I am going to guess you and I have some underlying philosophical differences. I fully believe in the power of competitive markets, however, the primary market structured around profit is not always (or even often) the best for global scale issues. Given that we cannot appropriately price externalities nor enforce them, we often want organizations which are motivated socially or by values. The trade off in efficiency is irrelevant. I don’t want a company seeking maximum efficiency in some areas, I want things that are driving for stability or durability. Or social good. Or other measurements. You actually said it best: > If anything, large multinationals are about the best run businesses on the planet. Yes, but they’re businesses, not everything is a business problem.

eru 1y ago
> I am going to guess you and I have some underlying philosophical differences. I fully believe in the power of competitive markets, however, the primary market structured around profit is not always (or even often) the best for global scale issues. Profit might not be a particularly good incentive, but the others are worse. > Given that we cannot appropriately price externalities nor enforce them, we often want organizations which are motivated socially or by values. Just waving your wand doesn't automagically make any organisation (government or otherwise) motivativated socially or by values. See eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_choice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_choice > The trade off in efficiency is irrelevant. I don’t want a company seeking maximum efficiency in some areas, I want things that are driving for stability or durability. Or social good. Or other measurements. Sure, but just stating that desire that doesn't make it happen.