The Myth of "Corporate Greed" Is a Tool to Control You

I read here (and other places) often about "corporate greed" and how it's essentially the root problem with the United States (and the world at large).

Well my friends - here's some information you probably won't get on MSNBC, Bill Maher, University Professors, or Ed Schultz:

The word corporate means simply "pertaining to a united group, as of persons" (Dictionary). Corporations are defined as "an association of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members." (same resource).

Greed simply means "excessive or rapacious desire, especially for wealth or possessions". Sounds really nasty doesn't it? But wait... What's the difference between Desire and Greed?

Desire is "to wish or long for; crave; want". So it looks like the difference between the two is:

1. An Excessive desire
   
2. Especially for wealth or possessions
   

... hold that thought...

So we've essentially arrived at the conclusion that "Corporate" anything is actually a consensus will of a group of people. In a privately owned company - it's the owning group, and in a publicly held company it's all the share holders.

So the greed we're talking about is the consensus will of potentially hundreds (if not thousands) of people - all the way from the Chief Executive Officer (what CEO stands for) to the lowly 401k contributor (you and me).

That consensus of will is to execute the corporate activities in a way that will make money for all the owners.

... so here we come back to the difference between Greed and Desire. If the actual goal of a Corporation is to make money for the owners (i.e. "Profits"), and the consensus will of the owners is to do it better than their competition, does this not erase the distinction between Greed and Desire when pertaining to a corporate body who's only Desire is to collect wealth and to do it exceedingly well?

Let's put this into a nice parable (worked for Jesus, why not for me right?):

A boy fresh out of college (University for you blokes across the pond). He is now educated in the art of chair making. The boy partners with two other boys - one to sell the chairs and one to get parts for the chairs. This corporation now desires to make better chairs than all the other chair makers so they can make lots of money doing it. Along comes the town Mayor who denounces the boy because the he didn't hire someone to help him build the chairs. The boy claims "But I can't afford to hire anyone and still make a decent living". The Mayor then creates a new town law that all chair makers must hire at least one more person to help make the chairs - to avoid corporate greed.

Who is wrong? The Mayor or the boy?

------------------------------------------------------------

Now, as to how it's used to control you:

You've been lied to. You've been sold an idea that people desiring to make money is bad IF they already make more money than you.

You've been mis-educated to believe that Corporations are machines controlled by the elite few.

You've been herded into thinking that people who make money have an obligation to those who do not.

You've been fooled into thinking that an organization of people who produce nothing and consume everything (government) have an answer to your woes simply by attacking the very people whom produce.

Without Corporations, we don't have jobs. Without jobs, we have no money. Without money we have no means to trade for goods and services. With no means for trade we loose our ability survive - at least as a civilized society.

If the Corporations don't make money, and lots of it - they cease to exist.

There is no amount that can be arbitrarily set to say when a group of people of a consensus goal have made "enough".

It's a lie.

Tell this to all the people in third world countries who have no choice but to succumb to these ever hungry corporations and be absorbed into them as cheap labor.

Tell this to the food that you eat. Its barely food.

They have poisoned our food, our music, our government, our education and our values.


I'm sorry but in MY opinion, you are wrong.

edit: Not to mention the political whores who work as an extension of these corporations

reply to post by gncnew


someone has been reading atlas shrug you sound like my professor in my business class, Truth be told a corporation gives its larger share holders control over the corporations hence the problem of greed. They will cut cost to receive greater profits even if that means shipping all the jobs to china or some other 3rd world country in doing this they push the middle class into the lower class all in the name of profit.

reply to post by gncnew


I'm a little short on response time but will come back to make a more educated response...for now, well thought out and presented. You are correct in that the extension of responsibility on the part of the corporation goes well beyond the C's (CFO, CEO, ETC)...easy to pin it there. I will say that the notion of a stock holder some how actually being heard (unless they own a significant amount of shares) is bunk. I'll be back.

CJ

When people speak of corporate greed, they are actually talking about the greed of those at the very top of the corporation who do the actual controlling and decision making (i.e. board of directors, executives, etc.). They are referring to the fact that in many corporations, the executives will get their millions in bonuses the same year that they "have" to layoff thousands of lower employees and many other actions like it.

To apply your analogy in the sense that we mean when we speak of corporate greed, we could say that a this chair making man built up an empire. He retired, leaving the empire to the Board of Directors, and they chose a CEO from amongst themselves. Now, when sales numbers for the quarter were a half percentage under forecast, these folks decide that they'll have to close the original plant in Vermont and move it to China. They lay off thousands of people. The small town that had depended upon the factory for its livelihood for over fifty years is decimated. The Board of Directors still get their million dollar bonuses. Nobody does anything about it, and the once middle class town is now rife with poverty.

When a corporation puts their profit above the rights and quality of life of others, I feel that's a bad thing.

When a corporation exploits and destroys our environment, and then lobbies the government so that they can exploit it even MORE, I feel that's a bad thing.

There is nothing wrong with wealth and making money. However, there is something wrong with the control large corporations have, as the destruction of the environment, and people's quality of life.

Large companies get rich off the labor of the "little guy" from the purchases by the "little guy" and from the rights they are granted from the country they operate in. Because of this they owe the country, and the people, that made them great.

If you deny that corporations have tried to control and lie to the America people, you are lying to yourself. Look at Aspartame, look at GMO foods. Monsanto is making people sick, and ruining the environment. In your opinion this is OK, is that what you are saying?

The option is to not support a company that you don't agree with. But that is getting more and more difficult to do, as pretty much everything around is now a monopoly of the industry. THAT is not right, we should have the choice to support corporation A or corporation B, but many time we don't, because corporation A corrupted the government into putting policy in place that edges out corporation B.

Without corporations we would still have jobs. To say otherwise is ridiculous, and a flat out lie. Small business is far better for the economy than big corporations are.

Originally posted by Jugtalicus
Tell this to all the people in third world countries who have no choice but to succumb to these ever hungry corporations and be absorbed into them as cheap labor.

Tell this to the food that you eat. Its barely food.

They have poisoned our food, our music, our government, our education and our values.


I'm sorry but in MY opinion, you are wrong.

edit: Not to mention the political whores who work as an extension of these corporations

edit on 14-6-2011 by Jugtalicus because: (no reason given)

Tell it to who? Do you have a job? Then you should tell them yourself. If you demand a certain salary to do your work, then you are just as guilty. To afford your increased salary and/or benefits, the "corporation" has to make more money.

This idealistic "the kids starving in the streets" notion is very sexy, I understand... but it's a fallacy. Do you know why corporations do the production in third world countries?

It's because those countries have nothing else. If those countries has ANYTHING for their people to live off of - then the corporations wouldn't have a welcome mat. Those people are not being forced into slave labor. They're being offered work at the market price.

Think about this - what if the Corporations completely pulled out... then what? What would those people do for food and shelter? Where would their income come from? No Corporations = No Jobs.

Originally posted by pcrobotwolf
reply to post by gncnew

 

someone has been reading atlas shrug

you sound like my professor in my business class, Truth be told a corporation gives its larger share holders control over the corporations hence the problem of greed. They will cut cost to receive greater profits even if that means shipping all the jobs to china or some other 3rd world country in doing this they push the middle class into the lower class all in the name of profit.

That's their job though. Share holders (like us) tend to whine when our portfolios drop. When's the last time you looked at your retirement account - saw the 20% loss - and said "good! We didn't exercise any corporate greed this quarter!"

Tell that to the Bank executives from the " Too big to fail banks" that received Multi million dollar bonuses, after they received tax money from the government to help keep them afloat. Tell that to the people who see the greed in their eyes.

Watch them spit in your face and laugh as they walk away if you ask them to give that money back or to maybe donate to a charity.... Oh no, they couldn't do that, THAT would be selfless..... But they aren't that. They are greedy and selfish.

That is truth.

Originally posted by gnosticquasar
When people speak of corporate greed, they are actually talking about the greed of those at the very top of the corporation who do the actual controlling and decision making (i.e. board of directors, executives, etc.). They are referring to the fact that in many corporations, the executives will get their millions in bonuses the same year that they "have" to layoff thousands of lower employees and many other actions like it.

To apply your analogy in the sense that we mean when we speak of corporate greed, we could say that a this chair making man built up an empire. He retired, leaving the empire to the Board of Directors, and they chose a CEO from amongst themselves. Now, when sales numbers for the quarter were a half percentage under forecast, these folks decide that they'll have to close the original plant in Vermont and move it to China. They lay off thousands of people. The small town that had depended upon the factory for its livelihood for over fifty years is decimated. The Board of Directors still get their million dollar bonuses. Nobody does anything about it, and the once middle class town is now rife with poverty.

You need to stop at the "When the sales numbers were half a percent below forecast"...

What does that actually mean? Well - it means the share holders portfolios are going to drop. It also means that the salary plan for the ENTIRE work force is now in jeopardy.

The CEO now has two options - either suck it (and most likely get fired) in the spirit of nobility, or to do the job he's hired to do and make moves to recover that half percentage.

They get bonuses because they are the ones making the decisions that keep the company afloat.

In your scenario - what you left out is the cost of ever increasing benefits and now the burden of retirement pensions being paid to tens of thousands of people who don't actually produce anything.

The costs keep going up but the demand isn't keeping pace with the cost...

What should they do? How do you continue to do business and keep all us share holders from selling our stock and moving on to the next hot potato?

YOU CUT COSTS....

Originally posted by James1982
When a corporation puts their profit above the rights and quality of life of others, I feel that's a bad thing.

When a corporation exploits and destroys our environment, and then lobbies the government so that they can exploit it even MORE, I feel that's a bad thing.

There is nothing wrong with wealth and making money. However, there is something wrong with the control large corporations have, as the destruction of the environment, and people's quality of life.

Large companies get rich off the labor of the "little guy" from the purchases by the "little guy" and from the rights they are granted from the country they operate in. Because of this they owe the country, and the people, that made them great.

If you deny that corporations have tried to control and lie to the America people, you are lying to yourself. Look at Aspartame, look at GMO foods. Monsanto is making people sick, and ruining the environment. In your opinion this is OK, is that what you are saying?

The option is to not support a company that you don't agree with. But that is getting more and more difficult to do, as pretty much everything around is now a monopoly of the industry. THAT is not right, we should have the choice to support corporation A or corporation B, but many time we don't, because corporation A corrupted the government into putting policy in place that edges out corporation B.

Without corporations we would still have jobs. To say otherwise is ridiculous, and a flat out lie. Small business is far better for the economy than big corporations are.

Small businesses that are successful BECOME big corporations (Microsoft, Apple, Google, Yahoo, Ford, GroupOn...).

Who exactly do you think demands the ever increasing profits of a corporation?

Shareholders don't have a say in the day-to-day operations... but they have enormous power in their ability to sell or hold the stock.

Why do you think stock market dips are so spooky???

What a load of crap.

Obviously not every corporation is evil and bad but your chair maker example is not illustrative of reality.

As you said, the main goal of corporations is to make a profit. So how can that not be a problem if the corporation produces weapons for example, and a peace treaty might make them obsolete. Do you think they will support such treaty??? How about medicine companies that make a living from people being sick, do you think they will ever show us a cure for a disease that might make their drugs useless??? How about a prepackaged food producer that has a chance to lower its cost by adding high-fructose corn syrup to their food, do you think they will pass up on the extra profits??? What about a tobacco company that...you get the picture I hope.

It's simplistic to blame corporations for all of our problems, but it's plain ignorant to dismiss all the harm they have caused and in turn defend them. You should be ashamed.

OP, how wrong you read the awakening of society.
It is NOT about jealousy of the wealthy
It is the realisation that our government has sold out the PEOPLE in favour of allowing corporations to rape society at all costs - pollution, poverty, jobs and freedom for the sake of massive profits to corporations.
It is the realisation that our government has put Corporate GREED first, above creating a society that is based on innovation which could benefit MANKIND.
It is the realisation that our government sold their souls to the Devil.

Originally posted by gimme_some_truth
Tell that to the Bank executives from the " Too big to fail banks" that received Multi million dollar bonuses, after they received tax money from the government to help keep them afloat. Tell that to the people who see the greed in their eyes.

Watch them spit in your face and laugh as they walk away if you ask them to give that money back or to maybe donate to a charity.... Oh no, they couldn't do that, THAT would be selfless..... But they aren't that. They are greedy and selfish.

That is truth.

Ahhh...

You make a great point - but what's the other key factor in this scenario? Who's the bugaboo that came in and mucked it up?

Was it the corporation that was failing...

Or was it the GOVERNMENT who bailed them out???

Government + Capitalism = FAIL ... every time.

Originally posted by endlessknowledge
What a load of crap.

Obviously not every corporation is evil and bad but your chair maker example is not illustrative of reality.

As you said, the main goal of corporations is to make a profit. So how can that not be a problem if the corporation produces weapons for example, and a peace treaty might make them obsolete. Do you think they will support such treaty??? How about medicine companies that make a living from people being sick, do you think they will ever show us a cure for a disease that might make their drugs useless??? How about a prepackaged food producer that has a chance to lower its cost by adding high-fructose corn syrup to their food, do you think they will pass up on the extra profits??? What about a tobacco company that...you get the picture I hope.

It's simplistic to blame corporations for all of our problems, but it's plain ignorant to dismiss all the harm they have caused and in turn defend them. You should be ashamed.

Or how about the "Carbon Credits" corporations giving false peace to companies to pollute away? How about the drug companies that withhold vital medicines because treatments are more profitable than the cure?

How about your retirement portfolio set up by your 401k firm that invests in all of them?

How about you?

Originally posted by WhoKnows100
OP, how wrong you read the awakening of society.
It is NOT about jealousy of the wealthy
It is the realisation that our government has sold out the PEOPLE in favour of allowing corporations to rape society at all costs - pollution, poverty, jobs and freedom for the sake of massive profits to corporations.
It is the realisation that our government has put Corporate GREED first, above creating a society that is based on innovation which could benefit MANKIND.
It is the realisation that our government sold their souls to the Devil.

I am reading nothing wrong friend... There is a concerted (and successful) effort by our Government to make people believe that capitalism is bad and government is good.

You're right that our government has sold out the people - but only because we've allowed them to begin picking loosers and winners.

We let our government invest heavily into the private market with our money where they desire to in a way that fits their agenda.

Again - Government is the problem, not the "corporations".

Originally posted by gncnew

Originally posted by pcrobotwolf
reply to post by gncnew

 

someone has been reading atlas shrug

you sound like my professor in my business class, Truth be told a corporation gives its larger share holders control over the corporations hence the problem of greed. They will cut cost to receive greater profits even if that means shipping all the jobs to china or some other 3rd world country in doing this they push the middle class into the lower class all in the name of profit.

That's their job though. Share holders (like us) tend to whine when our portfolios drop. When's the last time you looked at your retirement account - saw the 20% loss - and said "good! We didn't exercise any corporate greed this quarter!"

Yes bite the hand that feeds see where it will get you. The fact that the businesses started in this country and had been fund by loans which come from our tax payer money is the reason if got off the ground in the first place. The business isn't going to tank its going to level off and yes I'm ok with that like a smart person i will not hold all my eggs in one basket and will get shares in other companies uping the overall growth of the US market. Its people like you that are killing the market thinking that profit should rise continuously without having to wait a couple of years.

Again - Government is the problem, not the "corporations".

Pffffffffffffft

Maybe you need to get more informed before you start spewing your verbal diarrhea all over the place.

The government and corporations go hand in hand. The reason why corporations get away with everything they get away with is because policy has been passed by politicians to allow them such rights. The reason such policy has been passed in the first place is because the corporations lobbied the politician and to push their own agenda. Lobbying has become such a huge element of policy making these days that you must be out of your mind in thinking the two entities are distinct.

reply to post by gncnew


You make a good point but there is more to it than meets the eye.
First of all desire is more multifacted than you state here and desire has 2 sides to it.
Neccesary and unnecsesary desire.
And this needs a more philosphical approach to give it more definition.

I would say that an unnessesary desire is one that is a waste of time and energy in any way shape or form.
And a necessary desire is one that benefits ones self and prefarably benifits the hole of a society in a sensible balanced way.Such a desire has to come to fruitition out of integrity.
The intention of desire is what gives its meaning really.

So there is basically nothing wrong with having a desire for money and wealth, although in this society most of the money spent is totally unusefull and even harmfull for the human psyche and society as a whole, but when half of the world is living in poverty and most of the rest are struggling to makes end meet en the few on top living in excessive wealth and making it sure it stays that way, there is something seriously wrong.
It is only logical that corruption starts to eat away such a system as it only feeds greed. There would be no or very little greed if people have the same and have access to the same that others have,

And i think we have come to a point where we have to use all the technologies,wealth and desire to create a better world for everyone not just a few who think because they have the ''biggest'' desire.
And i honestly think the creation of such a utopia is possible and the implementation swift.
The real conspiracy is that we could not. It is this old system that has permiated and corrupted our own minds in so many ways, its sad really.
And i hope by god im not the only one on this planet that thinks this way....

The OP is the most naive thing I have heard for a long time - well at least today - what is he 12.

One word --- Ivan Boesky