Re: "Corporations selling your ass down the road for a dollar"

Declan wrote: [to cypherpunks for no apparent reason]

> >None of this is news to Declan of course.  I just get disappointed
> >when I see industry mouthpiece after industry mouthpiece without a
> >single goal in mind except maximum profit.  Libertarianism in
> >action - corporations sell your ass down the road for a dollar and
> >some stock options.
> 
> I'm sure Michael was upset and not typing clearly. He knows as well
> as anyone that libertarians are not pro-business; they're
> pro-individual rights.

Except, of course, that *businesses* count as individuals in a 
libertarian world.  Yes, the corporation, that creation wholly of 
government, becomes a sort of super-individual - and of course all 
individuals are equal, but some are just a bit more equal.

When I see a libertarian calling for an elimination of all forms of 
corporations and a return to sole proprietorships and straight 
partnerships as the only form of business, then I'll know he's 
ideologically consistent.  Until then, pro-business is the only 
reasonable way to describe the twisted rationale behind 
libertarianism.

Which brings me back to my original point - the AIM representation at 
the aforementioned hearings.  In Libber-land, there's nothing 
reprehensible there.  Corporations are lobbying for their "individual 
rights", one of them being the right to make maximum profit by 
eliminating/marginalizing competitors.  Of course the rights they are 
lobbying for may infringe on some others' rights, perhaps in schools 
or libraries which receive federal funds, but hey, that's life for 
you.  Every individual has an equal chance.  And after all, freedom 
to speak and receive information is just a preference - some people 
prefer to receive more of it than others.

> Libertarians spend quite a bit of time
> complaining about the Republican habit of funding corporate
> subsidies.

But very very little time complaining about the *existence* of 
corporations whose primary function is to shield the important folks 
who run and fund the corporation from the consequences of their 
actions.  Come on!  This should be a primary offense!  Individuals 
with no responsibility!


> The pursuit of profit in the free market is not to be discouraged --
> without it, we wouldn't have the Internet we have today.

Heavens, Declan, you're right!  All those companies selflessly 
creating a network between universities and defense sites, not 
seeking a return in five years but looking well into the future..... 
Let us praise the foresight of those companies.  What were their 
names again?


-- Michael Sims

At 9:50 AM -0800 2/12/98, Lizard wrote:
>I've been saying that for a long time. I'm not 100% certain I wish to
>eliminate entirely the corporation, but the idea of an 'artificial person'
>as an entity to take the blame for crimes committed by real people is
>highly dubious to me. If Monty Burns says, "Let's dump the toxic waste in
>the school ground, who cares if some kids die!", then it should be he who
>faces criminal charges -- not his corporation which gets fined.

I fully agree, and I think US law agrees, that an illegal act by an
employee is not shielded by incorporation.  But as many people on this list
have noted, what the law says, and what is enforced are widely different.

Probably the most valuable feature of corporations is the way they limit
the financial liability of their stockholders and managers.  This limit
allows people to go into business without having to worry about business
creditors coming to take their houses and cars.  (And wives and first born
:-)

Since everyone knows what the deal is, there is no fraud.  Everyone
extending credit to a corporation knows that it is the corporation's credit
rating which is relevant, not the credit ratings of the members of the
board of directors.

Limited liability, coupled with the willingness of venture capitalists to
fund ventures lead by people whose previous ventures have failed, are the
engine which allows Silicon Valley's creative destruction approach to
making money succeed.


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