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> 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 tha
by 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 agoI'm not saying it's right, I'm saying "this is how the people in charge think".
- advisedwang 9mo agoWhat 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.