Jones isn't being any shittier here than any of a number of corporations... and he is taking advantage of a legal system/regime that is basically set up to favor corporations over citizens (but wait, corporations are people too).
When you can buy the politicians and have your lobbyists help write the legislation, it somehow magically see…
Jones isn't being any shittier here than any of a number of corporations... and he is taking advantage of a legal system/regime that is basically set up to favor corporations over citizens (but wait, corporations are people too).
When you can buy the politicians and have your lobbyists help write the legislation, it somehow magically seems to work in your favor.
This is why most reform tends to not solve the actual problems, it only hides poison pills (to counter balance the stated intention of the reform) that actually seem to make things worse.
Corps abuse the law all the time. Rich and powerful people abuse the law all the time. Nobody at the bottom has the level of anger or ability to do much about it.
Don't look for any of this to change any time soon, if ever.
Have sometimes wondered how corporations can act in some of the ways that they do, irrespective of the imperative to 'maximize profit'. But then I recall something I read a half a lifetime ago. In the book On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors (1979), John DeLorean, a former corporate VP at the company, spoke directly to this. Can't quote verbatim, but the gist of what he said was that many of the corporate movers and shakers were as moral as anyone else, some of them even more so, in their private lives. But when they walked into the corporate boardroom or executive suite, all bets were off. They changed from who they were outside the corporate walls and made decisions that they would not similarly make in their private lives. A testament, I suppose, to the compartmentalizing power of the mantra "It's just business".
Now, considering the source for this observation is John DeLorean of 'cocaine capital financing to support his own auto company's production' fame, I suppose you can take that with a grain or two of salt. But then again, maybe not.
There is a truth to the observation--which I have remarked upon here in some other posts WRT corporations not being ethical actors... and hence not being deserving of full "personhood."
Our culture has carved out a number of exceptions to codes of morality/ethics. These exceptions are rooted in either:
1) being ethical is not a requirement (and is in fact a liability) in the particular area in issue (most notably business);
2) Incredibly low expectations leading to the acceptance of unethical behavior (usually in politics).
These aren't the only ones, just the two main ones that are basically screwing over our society.
People tend to be moral as private individuals, because there are consequences when you aren't. They will (as a minimum) act to appear ethical even if they are not actually so. There are rare individuals who will not, but they are aberrations and have psychological issues (Trump is an example). It is amazing how someone so mentally ill (because he is) can amass such power and popularity.
When you get people into groups is where you have issues. Corporations not only reduce financial liability they reduce ethical liability as well. Any collective does this unless steps are taken to avoid it.
Mistakes were made...
It's not personal, its just business...
The observation/belief that the responsibility of corporate officers is strictly fiduciary.. and that the sole purpose of corporations is to make money.
Toxic. Agree. 100%. Also, 'boardroom behavior' in a way a bit analogous to 'mob behavior / mentality' in which individuals within the group will for a brief period act in ways that they never would outside the group as lone individuals. Not 'hysteria' at work, but a sort of safety in numbers, those numbers being the others present that mutually reinforce the appropriateness of the action being taken. Problem is, boardroom behavior is not brief but is an ongoing enterprise. The riot never ends! The 'mob' never disperses.
I, too, believe the idea that "corporations are people, too" is a deeply flawed one.
Jones isn't being any shittier here than any of a number of corporations... and he is taking advantage of a legal system/regime that is basically set up to favor corporations over citizens (but wait, corporations are people too).
When you can buy the politicians and have your lobbyists help write the legislation, it somehow magically seems to work in your favor.
This is why most reform tends to not solve the actual problems, it only hides poison pills (to counter balance the stated intention of the reform) that actually seem to make things worse.
Corps abuse the law all the time. Rich and powerful people abuse the law all the time. Nobody at the bottom has the level of anger or ability to do much about it.
Don't look for any of this to change any time soon, if ever.
Have sometimes wondered how corporations can act in some of the ways that they do, irrespective of the imperative to 'maximize profit'. But then I recall something I read a half a lifetime ago. In the book On a Clear Day You Can See General Motors (1979), John DeLorean, a former corporate VP at the company, spoke directly to this. Can't quote verbatim, but the gist of what he said was that many of the corporate movers and shakers were as moral as anyone else, some of them even more so, in their private lives. But when they walked into the corporate boardroom or executive suite, all bets were off. They changed from who they were outside the corporate walls and made decisions that they would not similarly make in their private lives. A testament, I suppose, to the compartmentalizing power of the mantra "It's just business".
Now, considering the source for this observation is John DeLorean of 'cocaine capital financing to support his own auto company's production' fame, I suppose you can take that with a grain or two of salt. But then again, maybe not.
There is a truth to the observation--which I have remarked upon here in some other posts WRT corporations not being ethical actors... and hence not being deserving of full "personhood."
Our culture has carved out a number of exceptions to codes of morality/ethics. These exceptions are rooted in either:
1) being ethical is not a requirement (and is in fact a liability) in the particular area in issue (most notably business);
2) Incredibly low expectations leading to the acceptance of unethical behavior (usually in politics).
These aren't the only ones, just the two main ones that are basically screwing over our society.
People tend to be moral as private individuals, because there are consequences when you aren't. They will (as a minimum) act to appear ethical even if they are not actually so. There are rare individuals who will not, but they are aberrations and have psychological issues (Trump is an example). It is amazing how someone so mentally ill (because he is) can amass such power and popularity.
When you get people into groups is where you have issues. Corporations not only reduce financial liability they reduce ethical liability as well. Any collective does this unless steps are taken to avoid it.
Mistakes were made...
It's not personal, its just business...
The observation/belief that the responsibility of corporate officers is strictly fiduciary.. and that the sole purpose of corporations is to make money.
It is toxic as you can get.
Toxic. Agree. 100%. Also, 'boardroom behavior' in a way a bit analogous to 'mob behavior / mentality' in which individuals within the group will for a brief period act in ways that they never would outside the group as lone individuals. Not 'hysteria' at work, but a sort of safety in numbers, those numbers being the others present that mutually reinforce the appropriateness of the action being taken. Problem is, boardroom behavior is not brief but is an ongoing enterprise. The riot never ends! The 'mob' never disperses.
I, too, believe the idea that "corporations are people, too" is a deeply flawed one.
Human nature. What a mess!