3 ms·
Sense of decency often loses against profit. That's why I think this quote from RMS is relevant when it comes to the old "if you don't like it, don't use it":
by praptak 14y ago
Sense of decency often loses against profit. That's why I think this quote from RMS is relevant when it comes to the old "if you don't like it, don't use it":
"All in all, I think it is a mistake to defend people's rights with one
hand tied behind our backs, using nothing except the individual option
to say no to a deal. We should use democracy to organize and together
impose limits on what the rich can do to the rest of us. That's what
democracy was invented for!"
- ericHosick 14y agoFrom a much much more cynical view: Democracy was created so the rich could convince a majority to tie the hands of a minority.
- jrogers65 14y agoJust as laws have the effect of protecting the rich from the poor. I will explain the rationale behind that argument if anyone asks.
- slig 14y agoYes, please do. Thanks.
- jrogers65 14y agoPeople are very predictable if you know enough about them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlates_of_crime http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlates_of_crime Criminality is essentially a combination of low dopamine, low serotonin and low adrenaline levels. Stress chemicals such as cortisol can rapidly deplete neurotransmitter levels. There is also an inverse correlation between socioeconomic status and criminality. Being poor means more stress and lower levels of those neurotransmitters. The impulsivity caused by dopamine deficiency also causes more unwanted pregnancies - another risk factor for criminality. Poor people are also more likely to be religious - http://www.gallup.com/poll/116449/religion-provides-emotional-boost-world-poor.aspx http://www.gallup.com/poll/116449/religion-provides-emotiona... and being religious is correlated with criminality. So there is clearly a strong correlation between the effects of being poor or in poverty and criminality. Since the law is specifically designed to 'deal' with criminality, it is a mechanism which is quite biased against the poor. Hence, the law is there to protect the rich from the poor.
- slig 14y agoThank you!
- polskibus 14y agoDecency does lose against short-term profit, esp. when we're talking about public companies. However, there are companies that somehow strike a better deal with their shareholders and try not to screw their customers all the time. I found Roger Martin's book "Fixing the Game" to descibe interesting case studies and proposals on how to fix the short-term greed problem. Perhaps Instagram's board should read it? For such simple services, reputation is all there is. Building next photo sharing service is easy (perhaps already free on github?) and competitors are waiting for Instagram's slippage.