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Rodney · 01-06-2006, 09:47 AM

Having spent a great deal of time inside large corporations.... and not addressing at all how "evil" or "good" a corporation's effect is on the outside world...

...I always figured that living in the USSR was like living in a corporation 24 hours a day. Corporations aren't democratic. They're not necessarily meritocracies; I've seen plenty of corruption, lots of favoritism. Like, the CEO brings in an old buddy of his to run e-commerce, and _that_ guy buys an e-commerce engine from a company he has ties to, even though the IT guys are all screaming it's a POS. And it is. And when it's all over and the e-commerce project has gone down in flames, the CEO simply shifts his old bud to another department. And we're talking a Fortune 500 company here.

The major goal of the corporation is not necessarily the greater benefit of its employees. There is no system of internal checks and balances. And the only force that might cause most corporations to change course is external: falling sales, increasing competition, etc.

I won't say that some corporations aren't better than others. But there's nothing inherently democratic about them, and living inside a corporation would be a lot like living in an authoritarian state. The only advancement or safety you could be sure of would come from favoritism, brown-nosing, and personal alliances.

Like somebody said about Heaven and Hell: they're both absolute dictatorships. The only difference is who's in charge. We aren't angels here on earth; so messy democracy is the best we can do. Abandoning it for a "secure" authoritarian structure, like a corporation, is giving up your freedom for, in the end, no security at all.

01-06-2006, 09:47 AM	#19 (permalink)
Rodney Observant Ruminant Location: Rich Wannabe Hippie Town	Having spent a great deal of time inside large corporations.... and not addressing at all how "evil" or "good" a corporation's effect is on the outside world... ...I always figured that living in the USSR was like living in a corporation 24 hours a day. Corporations aren't democratic. They're not necessarily meritocracies; I've seen plenty of corruption, lots of favoritism. Like, the CEO brings in an old buddy of his to run e-commerce, and _that_ guy buys an e-commerce engine from a company he has ties to, even though the IT guys are all screaming it's a POS. And it is. And when it's all over and the e-commerce project has gone down in flames, the CEO simply shifts his old bud to another department. And we're talking a Fortune 500 company here. The major goal of the corporation is not necessarily the greater benefit of its employees. There is no system of internal checks and balances. And the only force that might cause most corporations to change course is external: falling sales, increasing competition, etc. I won't say that some corporations aren't better than others. But there's nothing inherently democratic about them, and living inside a corporation would be a lot like living in an authoritarian state. The only advancement or safety you could be sure of would come from favoritism, brown-nosing, and personal alliances. Like somebody said about Heaven and Hell: they're both absolute dictatorships. The only difference is who's in charge. We aren't angels here on earth; so messy democracy is the best we can do. Abandoning it for a "secure" authoritarian structure, like a corporation, is giving up your freedom for, in the end, no security at all. Last edited by Rodney; 01-06-2006 at 09:52 AM..