[Politics] The Problematic Corporation

[toranin]

I have some thoughts on politics/socioeconomics that I want to talk about. Because I'm doing this to develop my thoughts and positions as much as to get any kind of message out or to spark discussions, I'm going to put the body of these posts behind a cut and tag them. I invite anyone who's curious to take a look and comment with their thoughts

Comments

[heraldotbadger]

Damn, I don't have time at work before my 9am meeting to read this, but I want to ...

In the meantime look up the bill presented to congress called "business should mind its own business"

[nleseul]

If you haven't already read it, I'd recommend that you look for Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back by Douglas Rushkoff. It's a pretty thorough treatment of some of these same themes.

[toranin]

Book's on order. Thanks for the recommendation.

[kitncub]

Hey, griffin. Are you still in New Hampshire?

My issues with the stock market are really two:

1) It prioritizes the welfare of shareholders above actual stakeholders. I'd argue that the people who are the biggest stakeholders in a business are not usually its biggest shareholders, with a few exceptions like small business owners and company founders. But generally if a company hits a downward spiral, for example-it will actually affect the lives of the company's employees much more than it will affect the lives of its biggest investors, who probably aren't living off their investment income. But the stock market is structured as though the investors should always have priority.

2) It prioritizes growth above a lot of other things, like social value, as you note, and steady profitability. There's no reason that a company that consistently makes the same profits every year should be considered a failure-except that the stock market will consider it one, because it's so structured around buying small and selling large.

[toranin]

Actually, I'm in the Boston area now, working and living on the Red Line of the T.