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May 11, 2003 22:39

How do big, scary corporations force anyone to do anything? (Beyond their lobbying the government for unfair laws, which would not be a problem in a libertarian government)

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Sorry, I just really can't see big business as a threat to freedom, not in the way big government is...

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ex_ilk May 11 2003, 21:32:04 UTC
I think it's blown out of proportion a lot, yes. But while agreeing with the above, I have to note that this isn't a libertarian government. And being forced to do something (which is really not possible without direct physical force, which generally means the person doing the forcing is the one "doing the DOING")I think is nearly impossible (you can die, or go to prison.. but you still have those choices in the end) and probably not the biggest problems we face regarding big corporations.

When big corporations control government then big corporations are the threat. And they don't just lobby for unfair laws. They buy, sell, trade and OWN politicians. Maybe not always directly. Sometimes it's because they are "protecting jobs" or "creating jobs" (see: prison building/operations) and sometimes they are simply owned outright. But they do not see this as evil, and they are not "conspiring". They simply, truly believe that serving business in this country means serving the people. Sometimes they are right. Sometimes they are very, very wrong.

But you will never, ever see a protestor with a sign saying

"DOWN WITH CORPOCRACY!! (well, some of them anyway)"

I think that's why you see a lot of generalizations here in LJ, and in other places. A lot of people start by yelling the basic message at the top of their lungs until it's heard.

Then we work out the subtleties, smooth out the wrinkles in logic.

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puristlove May 12 2003, 01:41:23 UTC
It's not that I don't suspect the big corporations don't do some shady things, like control government, it is that I wonder why the response to smaller government seems to be a fear that corporations would then have even more power. I see it as the opposite. They couldn't use government to influence/manipulate our spending any more, and their only real power would be financial and in marketing strategies, and there are good tools to combat both far more easily than one can combat police and armed forces if you disagree with a law...

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