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To paraphrase Arthur C. Clarke: "Any sufficiently sized corporation is indistinguishable from a government."

• readme 13y ago
  Except it is clearly distinguishable. I am not sure what Arthur C. Clarke was smoking when he allegedly said that. 1. Corporations cannot levy taxes on citizens. 2. Corporations are not democracies (whereas, most modern governments are). Only the board of directors has a vote. 3. Corporations often generate profits. Governments are not very good at this. 4. Corporations (in most cases) cannot use force against a private citizen (unless they are on the corporations property, for the US) 5. Corporations pay taxes. Governments collect taxes. ... I could name more differences, but I'm done. Most governmental entities are indeed "municipal corporations" but there is a serious dissonance between the typical for-profit corporation and government entity. The police, public works, or fire department, for example, are municipal corporations. However, these are not governments. They are just parts of the government.
  • Zelphyr 13y ago
    I meant from an efficiency standpoint. Remember all those stories we used to hear about people going to work for a government agency and sitting around for days and weeks, getting paid, waiting on some key aspect required to do their job? I have literally experienced that very thing in a large corporation.