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As the popular practice shows, the first and only duty of a for-profit company is to create returns for shareholders. If you do that ethically, fine. If you're

As the popular practice shows, the first and only duty of a for-profit company is to create returns for shareholders. If you do that ethically, fine. If you're not sure if it's ethical, try anyways. If it's unethical, do it. If it's illegal, do the cost-benefit analysis of what the punishment would cost the shareholders. That's how these people think, and it's a direct threat to the liberty and well-being of our society. EDIT: Downvote me all you want, but look around. That's how many of the people at the top of companies think as evidenced by their companies' behavior.

SoftTalker 9mo ago
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. (John Adams)
- lenerdenator 9mo ago
  We, for better or worse, got rid of those things. People can downvote my original comment all they want, but understand, that is the mindset of people like Mark Zuckerberg. Make money any way possible.
advisedwang 9mo ago
> the first and only duty of a for-profit company is to create returns for shareholders That's a choice, not a law of nature. We can make law that changes that. Individual executives can push back. Society at large can change norms and expectations. Why would we choose the nightmare world where profit must come first? The only reason you hear this argument deployed seriously is when the person saying it has their own motivations for wanting profit to be supreme.
- lenerdenator 9mo ago
  I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying "this is how the people in charge think".
  - advisedwang 9mo ago
    What I meant in that last sentence is that the powerful don't really think that. It's a line they trot out when they want to justify why some company must do the thing that they want it to. The same powerful people are happy to ignore shareholder supremacy when it conflicts with their desires. Then suddenly it's "the CEO has to have the leeway to make long term decisions" or "The company is committed to supporting the national security mission" or whatever is convenient.
hedayet 9mo ago
You are getting downvoted because your intent is burried in the third line. Readers reading the first sentence are probably downvoting immediately thinking that's your PoV.
- lenerdenator 9mo ago
  So we've gone from not reading the link to not even reading the comment?

SoftTalker 9mo ago

Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. (John Adams)

lenerdenator 9mo ago
We, for better or worse, got rid of those things. People can downvote my original comment all they want, but understand, that is the mindset of people like Mark Zuckerberg. Make money any way possible.

advisedwang 9mo ago

> the first and only duty of a for-profit company is to create returns for shareholders That's a choice, not a law of nature. We can make law that changes that. Individual executives can push back. Society at large can change norms and expectations. Why would we choose the nightmare world where profit must come first? The only reason you hear this argument deployed seriously is when the person saying it has their own motivations for wanting profit to be supreme.

lenerdenator 9mo ago
I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying "this is how the people in charge think".
- advisedwang 9mo ago
  What I meant in that last sentence is that the powerful don't really think that. It's a line they trot out when they want to justify why some company must do the thing that they want it to. The same powerful people are happy to ignore shareholder supremacy when it conflicts with their desires. Then suddenly it's "the CEO has to have the leeway to make long term decisions" or "The company is committed to supporting the national security mission" or whatever is convenient.

hedayet 9mo ago

You are getting downvoted because your intent is burried in the third line. Readers reading the first sentence are probably downvoting immediately thinking that's your PoV.

lenerdenator 9mo ago
So we've gone from not reading the link to not even reading the comment?