4 ms·

Ever hear of the court case involving the Dodge brothers and Ford? Maybe we fucked up there, and a century later, we finally arrived at this current state. > I

Ever hear of the court case involving the Dodge brothers and Ford? Maybe we fucked up there, and a century later, we finally arrived at this current state. > In the landmark 1919 case Dodge v. Ford Motor Co., the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of minority shareholders John and Horace Dodge, holding that a corporation’s primary purpose is to maximize profit for its shareholders. The court ordered Ford to pay out significant accumulated dividends, limiting Henry Ford's ability to prioritize employee wages and consumer prices over shareholder returns.

stego-tech 8mo ago
We absolutely fucked up there. There definitely needs to be protections for shareholders to reduce the chance of exploitation and fraud, but part of the “free market” as it were is for shareholders to fuck off to other companies if they don’t like how one is run. The “shareholder value” mandate is one of the greatest perversions of the “free market” out there, miles above any discourse about minimum wages or worker protection laws. Undo that decision along with the Reagan-era ruling permitting share buybacks, and you’d substantially weaken the Boardroom and C-Suite while turning off the two single biggest incentives to the current system of exploitation.
- irishcoffee 8mo ago
  I agree with you. How do we undo those things?
  - stego-tech 8mo ago
    Typically? Legislation would handle it, but most western democracies are so captured by Capital that getting this done nationally would take decades of time we simply do not have, and be far too risky. Another court opinion reversing those decisions in some part is an alternative, but equally unlikely given current politicization of SCOTUS. International treaties could work, if we still didn't have the military and economic might to twist arms in our favor - though with the EU very firmly refuting America's trade policies and expansionist regime, these might be closer than we think. International finance could also apply pressure for a reversal through pulling investment or only funding firms focused on fundamentals and long-term strategy over quarterly results and share prices alone. Unfortunately we still hold most of the Capital, so that's going to take time to create change. Then there's the thing. The thing could do it, but it would destabilize global geopolitics in the process by removing the sole remaining stabilizing superpower from the board for the thing. It's always an option, but also one of absolute last resort as a way of resolving the otherwise unresolvable. I am personally strongly opposed to the thing, but man I don't see many ways of avoiding it this far into the current mess. The more likely immediate course of action is continued protests, riots, and rising violence - just short of becoming the thing, but still bad enough to send a signal to the world that our way of doing things was unsustainable and that everyone else needs to reign things in immediately or risk following suit. China seems to acutely understand this, hence why they take great pains to incarcerate and reign-in Capital lest toxic western economic practices take root within their party or economy; France is in the midst of a similar such moment, and we don't know where they'll end up. Unfortunately I don't have a clear-cut answer other than "apply pressure to those in power such that compliance with the demands of their people is more palatable than taking funds from Capital or acting in their self-interest."

stego-tech 8mo ago

We absolutely fucked up there. There definitely needs to be protections for shareholders to reduce the chance of exploitation and fraud, but part of the “free market” as it were is for shareholders to fuck off to other companies if they don’t like how one is run. The “shareholder value” mandate is one of the greatest perversions of the “free market” out there, miles above any discourse about minimum wages or worker protection laws. Undo that decision along with the Reagan-era ruling permitting share buybacks, and you’d substantially weaken the Boardroom and C-Suite while turning off the two single biggest incentives to the current system of exploitation.

irishcoffee 8mo ago
I agree with you. How do we undo those things?
- stego-tech 8mo ago
  Typically? Legislation would handle it, but most western democracies are so captured by Capital that getting this done nationally would take decades of time we simply do not have, and be far too risky. Another court opinion reversing those decisions in some part is an alternative, but equally unlikely given current politicization of SCOTUS. International treaties could work, if we still didn't have the military and economic might to twist arms in our favor - though with the EU very firmly refuting America's trade policies and expansionist regime, these might be closer than we think. International finance could also apply pressure for a reversal through pulling investment or only funding firms focused on fundamentals and long-term strategy over quarterly results and share prices alone. Unfortunately we still hold most of the Capital, so that's going to take time to create change. Then there's the thing. The thing could do it, but it would destabilize global geopolitics in the process by removing the sole remaining stabilizing superpower from the board for the thing. It's always an option, but also one of absolute last resort as a way of resolving the otherwise unresolvable. I am personally strongly opposed to the thing, but man I don't see many ways of avoiding it this far into the current mess. The more likely immediate course of action is continued protests, riots, and rising violence - just short of becoming the thing, but still bad enough to send a signal to the world that our way of doing things was unsustainable and that everyone else needs to reign things in immediately or risk following suit. China seems to acutely understand this, hence why they take great pains to incarcerate and reign-in Capital lest toxic western economic practices take root within their party or economy; France is in the midst of a similar such moment, and we don't know where they'll end up. Unfortunately I don't have a clear-cut answer other than "apply pressure to those in power such that compliance with the demands of their people is more palatable than taking funds from Capital or acting in their self-interest."