[kj] Killing joke and Communism

[Brendan]

The self correcting market theory (more like hypothesis) is
nonsense...negative public pressure doesn't work when the public are kept
docile, and not just uninformed, but MISINFORMED through the media, when
corporations set up 'independent' research institites to conduct strangely
biased research into their own products, when corporations fund university
departments that are obviously loathe to produce research that is anti
their products, when you have economies that are dependent on particular
companies (like Finland is on Nokia for example)...when political parties
get massive contributions from corporations, and all the other various
levers of control.

Check this out Olly, and anyone else interested, it's pretty much on topic:

http://www.whywork.org/rethinking/whywork/rawilson.html

BQ


> Employees have a constant risk in their employer; they take a risk in

> assuming he is competent to manage the business right. If he doesn't,

> the business fails. That is a risk workers take. When big business takes

> risk, they often want to be bailed out -- see current mortgage/housing

> crisis. But -- isn't risk-taking the manly-man thing under capitalism?

> you know, take the risk, if it doesn't pay off, it doesn't pay off?

> that's not the way really-existing businesses like it to be. Except for

> the poor -- they need the market discipline, etc. Themselves, they'd

> never refuse a good old fashioned bail out.

>

> Survival instincts are many -- they often include collaboration (a

> corporation is supposed to be a collaborative effort, you know --

> teamwork pep rallies and all that right? Rah rah go corpo-team! If this

> were behavior in any organization besdes a corporations, it might be

> called cult-like -- in fact the book _Corporate Cults_ does a great job

> of comparing corporations and their practices to those of cults),

> collective pooling of resources (what many mutual funds are based on,

> and indeed that's what medical insurance is in the US: when you join an

> insurance plan you are basically agreeing to subsidize members of that

> insurance plan who need the care more than you, etc.)

>

> Only capitalism is still enough self-destructive as a system that it

> does indeed require constant government oversight, regulations,

> investigations and the like. The idea that they should be allowed to all

> just police themselves, and we'll take them on their good word for it --

> that's just laughable. especially post-Enron, etc., but even before.

>

> -Oliver

>

>

>>     ========================================

>>     Message Received: Aug 23 2007, 01:08 AM

>>     From: "GREG SLAWSON"

>>     To: ssssssssss at fsmail.net

>>     Cc:

>>     Subject: RE: [kj] Killing joke and Communism

>>

>>     How about paying people (CEOs) who do no work (well, ok, they go

>>     to meetings) hundreds of times what the people who actually do the

>>     work make...oh, right, they "take the risks" so they deserve it.

>>     Capitalist logic cracks me up. And, try finding any scientific

>>     evidence about a 'human survival instinct' that has anything to do

>>     w/capitalist behavior and I'll join the Libertain Party!

>>

>

> _______________________________________________

> Gathering mailing list

> Gathering at misera.net

> http://four.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/gathering

>