3 ms·

Is it true? Even on a small scale, when I taught kids how to swim for $20k/year I believe I did more for society than when I built systems to help a large strea

by rhines 6mo ago

Is it true? Even on a small scale, when I taught kids how to swim for $20k/year I believe I did more for society than when I built systems to help a large streaming service deliver ads for $100k/year. There are certainly exceptions, but in general money comes from extracting value from others, while jobs that provide to society are not extractive and this pay less.

simianwords 6mo ago
This is fundamentally wrong. If Elon created Tesla and made ~$100B of wealth from it, he also made all the other shareholders richer by way more. Not only that - the world now has Teslas it otherwise wouldn't. Everyone wins and there is no extraction of values (old Marxist jargon that needs to go away).
- cindyllm 6mo ago
  [dead]
- kmijyiyxfbklao 6mo ago
  That's all good if you assume people can't be tricked (tricked into paying more, tricked into buying something they don't want, tricked into working harder). The tricked person ends up with less and Elon ends up with more.
  - simianwords 6mo ago
    yeah man i'm sorry i don't believe people were "tricked" into buying teslas or whatever
- UncleMeat 6mo ago
  Is making shareholders rich contributing to society and humanity?
  - simianwords 6mo ago
    yes it is. your pension scheme has stake on the same stocks.
    - UncleMeat 6mo ago
      Yikes.
- text0404 6mo ago
  EXACTLY, thank you! I run an international human trafficking and drug smuggling operation. I know that what I'm doing is good for society: - It makes me and my partners extremely rich - It creates jobs for at-risk youth - It provides products and services that people want It benefits society! I am a benefit to society! Why can't anyone see this?
- rhines 6mo ago
  Yeah sorry I was thinking about value as more about quality of life and society. If you define it as shareholder value and producing stuff, then by definition corporations and their executives are of course contributing the most.

by rhines 6mo ago

simianwords 6mo ago

This is fundamentally wrong. If Elon created Tesla and made ~$100B of wealth from it, he also made all the other shareholders richer by way more. Not only that - the world now has Teslas it otherwise wouldn't. Everyone wins and there is no extraction of values (old Marxist jargon that needs to go away).

cindyllm 6mo ago
[dead]
kmijyiyxfbklao 6mo ago
That's all good if you assume people can't be tricked (tricked into paying more, tricked into buying something they don't want, tricked into working harder). The tricked person ends up with less and Elon ends up with more.
- simianwords 6mo ago
  yeah man i'm sorry i don't believe people were "tricked" into buying teslas or whatever
UncleMeat 6mo ago
Is making shareholders rich contributing to society and humanity?
- simianwords 6mo ago
  yes it is. your pension scheme has stake on the same stocks.
  - UncleMeat 6mo ago
    Yikes.
text0404 6mo ago
EXACTLY, thank you! I run an international human trafficking and drug smuggling operation. I know that what I'm doing is good for society: - It makes me and my partners extremely rich - It creates jobs for at-risk youth - It provides products and services that people want It benefits society! I am a benefit to society! Why can't anyone see this?
rhines 6mo ago
Yeah sorry I was thinking about value as more about quality of life and society. If you define it as shareholder value and producing stuff, then by definition corporations and their executives are of course contributing the most.