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Are Corporations Evil ?


CitizenX

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The vast majority of individuals working within corporations are as normal and decent as anyone else.

This is very true, but it is the ability to diffuse responsibility or pass it on to those above them that allows good people to commit or be involved with evil acts. Look at Abu Graib.

I strongly suggest that anyone interested in this subject should read The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil by Philip Zimbardo

Or at least watch this video.

I might started this thread on the question of corporation being evil, but what really interests me are the questions of what evil is, and how do normally good and decent people commit terrible or evil acts.

If you found these video's interesting here are some other's

Stanford Prison Experiment

Face the Rear: An Illustration of Social Influence

Edited by CitizenX
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Wow, this guy just watched "The Corporation" and now thinks he can use language like "evil" to describe these institutions. I bet a week or two ago CitizenX was saying something along the lines of evil not existing while making apologies for Islamism and terrorists.

Thanks for your 2 cents Bobo. Yes I've watch "The Corporation", and I posted the video on this topic. So how can you say that I passed it on as an original idea of mine? You sir suffer from Islamophobia and are a racist. You call me pathetic? This subject is so far above your Intelect that could never attempt to discuss this concept in a philosophical debate. You are a simple minded bigoted troll trying to distribute your Zionist views.

Let it be known I will no longer respond to anymore of your ramblings, and for the first time on this site I'm going to put someone on my ignore list. You have nothing to offer to anyone in the way of an intelligent discussion.

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In the bible is a quote that says that the love of money is the root of evil. This is how some corporations go wrong.

Corporations are merely an organization made up of people. It is not the corporation that is evil, it's the people(us) who go off the rails while letting the love of money become their driving ambition. But it happens in many professions: from the legal profession to contractors cutting corners to get more profits.

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In the bible is a quote that says that the love of money is the root of evil. This is how some corporations go wrong.

Corporations are merely an organization made up of people. It is not the corporation that is evil, it's the people(us) who go off the rails while letting the love of money become their driving ambition. But it happens in many professions: from the legal profession to contractors cutting corners to get more profits.

My belief is that it's not the love of money that is the root of evil. People don't love money, they love power, and power feeds the ego. Ego is the root of all evil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ0dcgd1XLg

Egotism is based on the delusion that we are separate selves in competition with others and the rest of the world.We don’t have to slay the ego or crush or dissolve the ego. It’d be far better to see through our illusory egotistical separate selves, realize that we are not who we think we are, and recognize our true identity, in order to be happy, fulfilled and achieve ultimate well being. In such a way we naturally overcome overweaning selfishness, narcissism, and confusion, along with the pride, jealousy, attachment, and other obscuring emotions which stem from delusion and plague our world.

It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak. - Eric Hoffer

As far as comparing corporations to anything else, I just don't think you can. A corporation is a legal entity that is created under the laws of a state designed to establish the entity as a separate legal entity having its own privileges and liabilities distinct from those of its members.Despite not being natural persons, corporations are recognized by the law to have rights and responsibilities like natural persons ("people") - Wikipedia

A corporation allows the people in control of it to literally get away with murder.

Edited by CitizenX
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My belief is that it's not the love of money that is the root of evil. People don't love money, they love power, and power feeds the ego. Ego is the root of all evil.

It is by its promise of a sense of power that evil often attracts the weak. - Eric Hoffer

As far as comparing corporations to anything else, I just don't think you can.

A corporation is a legal entity that is created under the laws of a state designed to establish the entity as a separate legal entity having its own privileges and liabilities distinct from those of its members.Despite not being natural persons, corporations are recognized by the law to have rights and responsibilities like natural persons ("people") - Wikipedia

A corporation allows the people in control of it to literally get away with murder.

I didn't compare a corporation to anything else, so why are you suggesting I tried to?

People don't love money? I'm afraid you've lost me. You seem to have a grudge against corporations and you have all your theories, quotes and thoughts in a row, but a corporation can not do a single thing. It will sit there as the pile of documents that it is until its people buy, sell, seek orders, manufacture, etc, and fulfill its mission or purpose.

A corporation is nothing but a collection of legal papers that people use to achieve goals. Having said that I already know that you are not open to discussion on this, so I'll leave you to explain yourself yet again to others.

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I didn't compare a corporation to anything else, so why are you suggesting I tried to?

My bad then I thought you were comparing corporations (as a group of people) to "legal profession and contractors cutting corners".

People don't love money? I'm afraid you've lost me. You seem to have a grudge against corporations and you have all your theories, quotes and thoughts in a row, but a corporation can not do a single thing. It will sit there as the pile of documents that it is until its people buy, sell, seek orders, manufacture, etc, and fulfill its mission or purpose.

Well yes, It is my belief that all though people do love money, it's not the money that they actually love it's the power that money provides that they really want and love. It's status anxiety that they suffer from.

Yes It's true I am not a fan of Corporations. Yes I have provided my thoughts and thoughts of others through video's, all in the hopes that it might stimulate conversation on those theories or to induce others to contribute their own. I'm not trying to be rude but your idea of what a corporation is, is flawed and lacking.

A corporation is nothing but a collection of legal papers that people use to achieve goals. Having said that I already know that you are not open to discussion on this, so I'll leave you to explain yourself yet again to others.

But you see it is not just a "collection of legal papers". It's a legal entity, It is a person under the law. "Despite not being natural persons, corporations are recognized by the law to have rights and responsibilities like natural persons ("people")". It allows people in control of it to commit immoral and illegal acts with no legal ramifications. A corporation can be responsible for murder, but because it's an entity with no physical body it can't be imprisoned.

You say that I'm "not open to discussion on this". But this is unfair and untrue, But the only response that I receive is either yes I agree with you (the end), or your just a nut job that has a hate on for corporations and or corporations are just pieces of paper.

I find the subject of evil to be extremely interesting. If you don't believe that a link between corporations and the concept of evil can be made I respect your opinion.

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"I lead by following" - in other words corporations have no leaders - just herding shepards that manipulate the ambitious and greedy. To be driven by profit alone makes the whole corporate issue evil in nature...

They because they do not have a brain are like the proverbial biblical beast - a huge powerful entity comprised of thousands of people that do not give a shit about moral reasoning - "They will do anything - say anything for a pay cheaque" - "Greed - lazyiness and stupidity are at fault" - these quotes are made by a man who deals quietly in billions...he does his best - but domination is what it is all about....The corporate "beast" - needs a brain - they need leaders..not committees that are entranced in the idea of how to surivive at any cost....

Large corporate structures are like a huge elephant with brain damage - it can roll over on you and snuff you out and not even realize that they have caused damage!

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No, I don't believe that power should be vested solely in government even in between locations. Government should never hold all the power, between elections or otherwise. Voters having power is a good ideal, but in practice, individuals do not have the resources to influence policy. However, groups of individuals do. The only way for voters to wield their power is by joining up with other voters in various groups. These groups can be non-profits, protests, unions, and, yes, corporations too. Now, the extent of the influence that they have can certainly be looked into, but you can bet that individuals will always band together with other likeminded individuals and use their resources to try to shape society towards how they believe it should be.

That is correct and those groups are called "Special interests" but the way to disband those goups and return power to the individual is to remove any mandate of the federal government that is of a special interest and not of interest to the nation as a whole. Things regarding the society can make progress best by society itself or lower levels of more representative governments.

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I find the subject of evil to be extremely interesting. If you don't believe that a link between corporations and the concept of evil can be made I respect your opinion.

corporations = evil

X = good

What is it that equals good? Are all things not corporations good?

Citizen x, the truth is that evil cannot exist without a comparison to something else.

A good definition of evil might be the total destruction and death of all things. Nothing causative could be totally evil as that would mean it's own destruction. Man as a causative agent can therefore not be totally evil. The destruction of something may be considered good.

Good, being the opposite of evil, is about creation and/or the continued existence of all things.

Good and evil then must be studied in relation to each other not as separate things.

A good rule to follow is that something that is more destructive than creative tends to be more evil while something that is more creative than destructive tends to be more good.

In light of that, what good and what evil do corporations do?

Edited by Pliny
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First I appreciate your contribution to this subject.

Citizen x, the truth is that evil cannot exist without a comparison to something else.

I agree with you as I stated on page one "Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good"

I think where you have confused what I have said is the definition of good and therefore the definition of evil.

corporations = evil

X = good

What is it that equals good? Are all things not corporations good?

I never said the definition of Evil = Corporations

I Said Corporations fall under my definition of Evil

My definition ( mostly from the book The Science of Evil by Simon Baron-Cohen)

Good = Empathy and Compassion

Evil = The absence of Empathy and Compassion

Your definitions (correct me if I'm wrong)

Good = creative

Evil = destructive

If this is your definition I don't understand it. Perhaps you could expand upon it.

Another Video demonstrating Corporations in action

IBM and the Holocaust (

http://www.ibmandtheholocaust.com/)

Edited by CitizenX
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  • 2 weeks later...

Any time human beings cluster into insect like collectives - be it unions or corporations...evil always emerges - with mob mentality no matter how seemingly sophisticated - the moral compass goes wild...a beast forms and beasts are strong - but have no real central mind - which makes them extremely dangerous and destructive - They just can't help it - nature and natural clusters and collectives are always evil....it's normal...but not good.

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First I appreciate your contribution to this subject.

I agree with you as I stated on page one "Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good"

I think where you have confused what I have said is the definition of good and therefore the definition of evil.

I never said the definition of Evil = Corporations

I Said Corporations fall under my definition of Evil

My definition ( mostly from the book The Science of Evil by Simon Baron-Cohen)

Good = Empathy and Compassion

Evil = The absence of Empathy and Compassion

Your definitions (correct me if I'm wrong)

Good = creative

Evil = destructive

If this is your definition I don't understand it. Perhaps you could expand upon it.

Your definitions are self-serving and ultimately rather simplistic. I mean, Hitler was nice to animals.

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Your definitions are self-serving and ultimately rather simplistic. I mean, Hitler was nice to animals.

Your response is rather simplistic. How is my definition self-serving, and simplistic? Maybe Hitler was nice to animals (other than humans), I don't know. What I do know is he had zero degree of empathy for people he thought of as being sub-human.

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How is that different from your attitude towards people with a conservative outlook?

Empathy - is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings (such as sadness or happiness) that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being.

My attitude towards conservative beliefs is one of disagreement, not a lack of empathy. Conservatives show a lack of empathy and compassion towards their fellow man. Read into this what you may. I have no doubt that Hitler suffered from a mental disorder so I would of had empathy for him. I just don't agree with him, and believe society must be protected from his type.

Edited by CitizenX
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Conservatives show a lack of empathy and compassion towards their fellow man.
That statement shows you have no empathy towards conservatives. If you actually had empathy you would understand that conservatives have plenty of empathy towards their fellow man but simply feel the big government solutions favoured by you cause more harm than good. Edited by TimG
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Your response is rather simplistic. How is my definition self-serving, and simplistic? Maybe Hitler was nice to animals (other than humans), I don't know. What I do know is he had zero degree of empathy for people he thought of as being sub-human.

I agree completely. And it demonstrates the flaw in your definition. Surely a lack of empathy alone cannot dictate whether someone is evil or not, and more to the point, the presence of empathy cannot be used solely to determine if someone is good.

I prefer to think of good and evil in terms of intentions and actions, rather than in terms of possible intentions and actions. A corporation is simply a thing; a construct. It has no independent will. It's like calling a bullet evil. Corporations, like bullets, are the manufacture of an intelligent agency, and can be used to good or evil, sometimes, ironically, both at the same time.

Edited by ToadBrother
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