iYuck: Sour Apples

[Clinton Huxley]

Capitalists are duty bound to maximise shareholder value. If that means poisoning chinese workers, thats just the way it is.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Capitalists are duty bound to maximise shareholder value. If that means poisoning chinese workers, thats just the way it is.

Then I would separate "capitalists" from the greater body of "businessmen". A storekeeper in the Old West, whose biography I read long ago, reflected that in 50 years of doing business with the people in his town he had never felt the urge to accumulate more wealth than he could use. His family was provided for and he left a modest sum behind him, in the form of life insurance, and was content.

[klr]

Capitalists are duty bound to maximise shareholder value. If that means poisoning chinese workers, thats just the way it is.

During the 19th century, many capitalists in Britain (and probably elsewhere) would have been disgusted by such a characterisation of themselves.

Today however ...

[Hermit]

Capitalists are duty bound to maximise shareholder value. If that means poisoning chinese workers, thats just the way it is.

During the 19th century, many capitalists in Britain (and probably elsewhere) would have been disgusted by such a characterisation of themselves.

Today however ...

...we don't have eleven-year-olds doing twelve-hour-shifts while getting miner's lungs any more. Well, at least not in Britain.

[maiforpeace]

You could dig up his bones and sell them to the faithful as talismans. Say, $5,000 for a finger bone, etc., to do homage to his pricing policy.

I could auction off quarters on Ebay, claiming them to be tips I got from him.

[klr]

Capitalists are duty bound to maximise shareholder value. If that means poisoning chinese workers, thats just the way it is.

During the 19th century, many capitalists in Britain (and probably elsewhere) would have been disgusted by such a characterisation of themselves.

Today however ...

...we don't have eleven-year-olds doing twelve-hour-shifts while getting miner's lungs. Well, at least not in Britain.

That's part of what I was getting at. What was deemed to be unacceptable in one's own country - even one's own factory - in the 19th century is still largely acceptable if it happens "elsewhere". But I have a suspicion that the capitalist ethos of today has regressed from (say) 150 years ago. Maybe that's overly simplistic, but I'm not exactly in a position right now to expand on it. Must get back to work.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

You could dig up his bones and sell them to the faithful as talismans. Say, $5,000 for a finger bone, etc., to do homage to his pricing policy.

I could auction off quarters on Ebay, claiming them to be tips I got from him.

In case them in crystals so "the essence he conveyed by touching them" is not demeaned by mere mortal contact.

[maiforpeace]

Capitalists are duty bound to maximise shareholder value. If that means poisoning chinese workers, thats just the way it is.

During the 19th century, many capitalists in Britain (and probably elsewhere) would have been disgusted by such a characterisation of themselves.

Today however ...

...we don't have eleven-year-olds doing twelve-hour-shifts while getting miner's lungs. Well, at least not in Britain.

That's part of what I was getting at. What was deemed to be unacceptable in one's own country - even one's own factory - in the 19th century is still largely acceptable if it happens "elsewhere". But I have a suspicion that the capitalist ethos of today has regressed from (say) 150 years ago. Maybe that's overly simplistic, but I'm not exactly in a position right now to expand on it. Must get back to work.

I don't think that's overly simplistic. A Google of slave labor produces tons of results.

[Clinton Huxley]

Western capitalism has now largely off-shored its exploitation

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Western capitalism has now largely off-shored its exploitation

Resulting in the impoverishment of their customer base. Dumbasses.

[Clinton Huxley]

Western capitalism has now largely off-shored its exploitation

Resulting in the impoverishment of their customer base. Dumbasses.

Irrelevant, as long as short term profit goes up.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Western capitalism has now largely off-shored its exploitation

Resulting in the impoverishment of their customer base. Dumbasses.

Irrelevant, as long as short term profit goes up.

Shortsighted. I thought that was a flaw.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

You could dig up his bones and sell them to the faithful as talismans. Say, $5,000 for a finger bone, etc., to do homage to his pricing policy.

I could auction off quarters on Ebay, claiming them to be tips I got from him.

In case them in crystals so "the essence he conveyed by touching them" is not demeaned by mere mortal contact.

Actually, homeopathically speaking, the rest of the change "remembers" being in contact with the quarter that was given to you by Jobs and is thus more powerfully essence-induced by reason of dilution. You could be carrying around an almost infinitely diluted (and thus supremely potent) capitalist weapon in every penny in your purse!

Or that could be all bollocks. Hard to tell.

[maiforpeace]

You could dig up his bones and sell them to the faithful as talismans. Say, $5,000 for a finger bone, etc., to do homage to his pricing policy.

I could auction off quarters on Ebay, claiming them to be tips I got from him.

In case them in crystals so "the essence he conveyed by touching them" is not demeaned by mere mortal contact.

Actually, homeopathically speaking, the rest of the change "remembers" being in contact with the quarter that was given to you by Jobs and is thus more powerfully essence-induced by reason of dilution. You could be carrying around an almost infinitely diluted (and thus supremely potent) capitalist weapon in every penny in your purse!

Or that could be all bollocks. Hard to tell.

Come to think of it, I have at least $50.00 in quarter rolls I was saving for Vegas, but now...

[PsychoSerenity]

Capitalists are duty bound to maximise shareholder value. If that means poisoning chinese workers, thats just the way it is.

Then I would separate "capitalists" from the greater body of "businessmen". A storekeeper in the Old West, whose biography I read long ago, reflected that in 50 years of doing business with the people in his town he had never felt the urge to accumulate more wealth than he could use. His family was provided for and he left a modest sum behind him, in the form of life insurance, and was content.

And tradesmen and craftsmen. People who actually do something productive for their profits. Rentier capitalism is a term I've recently come across which separates the two. Here's an interesting blog-post about how capitalism has changed over time, and how "immaterial property", copyrights etc, are becoming to dominate western economies, possibly bringing us back to rentier capitalism.