Similarity between corporations and the medieval feudal system

[Anonymous]

Thanks to the laws obliging executives to disclose their salary and stocks, you can easily imagine the gap between the pay of the EC members on one hand and your own pay on the other hand. It is not difficult to fill-in the blanks in between.

Do you realize how similar corporations are to medieval Europe? Each corporation is like a kingdom and within each you have one king (CEO) who, when he speaks, everybody listens in awe and utter respect (employee business briefings). Then you have nobility and those close to the court (EC members, divisional presidents etc) who command vast expanses of agricultural land and towns (divisions, teams, plants) and live in castles (offices and aviation) while occasionally addressing the masses (employees) from the castle balcony (the stage in town-hall meetings) invariably "inspiring" the masses (employees) with downward talk (downward talk) of a single-view "Gott mit uns" speech (quoting George Merck) and asking everyone to work harder (high-performance talk) while promising few gold coins to some undisclosed lucky few (talent management).

Humanity toyed with alternatives over the centuries (communism, democracy, taxation schemes, etc) yet with corporations the only way (dare you object) is that retro style.

 

[Anonymous]

Ostrom and Williamson won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics for in part for analyzing some of the reasons for why large organizational structures develop and grow. In theory, corporations should prosper only as long as they are more valuable to everyone to stay on the inside than to leave. Corporations are as subject to rot and corruption as any medieval governing system. What is recommended is that some form of government regulatory activity to keep them from becoming abusive. Unfortunately, if you are relying on your own current government to provide some balanced restraint to the excesses of corporations, you will wait a good long time. Corporations have already purchased all the government that you believed you elected fair and square. At least it is not the size of the corporation that matters but whether it is whether it is operating in a non-corrupting way that determines if it benefits society at large and its members. But with size comes power and power can corrupt. The tide will turn but such changes may take longer than you have left. You could try to go it on your own. But neither you as an individual or you as an individual citizen has much chance standing up against the money machine that is today's multinational corporation.

 

[Anonymous]

Ostrom and Williamson won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics for in part for analyzing some of the reasons for why large organizational structures develop and grow. In theory, corporations should prosper only as long as they are more valuable to everyone to stay on the inside than to leave. Corporations are as subject to rot and corruption as any medieval governing system. What is recommended is that some form of government regulatory activity to keep them from becoming abusive. Unfortunately, if you are relying on your own current government to provide some balanced restraint to the excesses of corporations, you will wait a good long time. Corporations have already purchased all the government that you believed you elected fair and square. At least it is not the size of the corporation that matters but whether it is whether it is operating in a non-corrupting way that determines if it benefits society at large and its members. But with size comes power and power can corrupt. The tide will turn but such changes may take longer than you have left. You could try to go it on your own. But neither you as an individual or you as an individual citizen has much chance standing up against the money machine that is today's multinational corporation.

that is why they call it "corporate serfdom."

 

[Anonymous]

...neither you as an individual or you as an individual citizen has much chance standing up against the money machine that is today's multinational corporation.

The beauty is not in any old-fashioned revolution willed by a raging few magnets, no. The beauty is that all this system will crumble without any outsider nor insider doing anything in particular. The 2008 crash was but an early sneeze compared to the future flue. Meanwhile, keep acting that politically correct version of "yes master" at work and keep up the democracy illusion at large - it is all a cheeky state, temporary on the larger scale of human history, that will end.

 

[Anonymous]

The beauty is not in any old-fashioned revolution willed by a raging few magnets, no. The beauty is that all this system will crumble without any outsider nor insider doing anything in particular. The 2008 crash was but an early sneeze compared to the future flue. Meanwhile, keep acting that politically correct version of "yes master" at work and keep up the democracy illusion at large - it is all a cheeky state, temporary on the larger scale of human history, that will end.

...and YOUR solution?

 

[Anonymous]

...and YOUR solution?

The answer is in the analysis. When the corporation is no longer a net benefit to its employees, or its customers, or its stockholders, it will be forced to change or die. If there comes a day when Merck needs particular employees, how they treat them in these days will determine how much it will cost them in the future. In one hundred little ways like this the corporation must change or die. Same with government. But to accelerate any such change, being organized is beneficial. Whether in politics or in the work force. Foreign governments have for years demanded that pharmaceutical companies provide jobs in return for tax breaks or market access. Our government does neither, for example. Pharmaceutical companies move their work overseas and then lobby congress for tax holidays to bring the profit back.

 

[Anonymous]

Last one hit it square...the problem is not the corporations but the government..they set up punative rules to profit trial lawyers (most lawmakers are lawyers) and then they use punitive or manipulative taxation to get the desired effects! What a bunch of shit...corporations pay an inordinate amount of taxes and have to use taxation to their benefit whenever possible! One of the above posters was a Clowart & Piven marxist from the get go...that's why all the socialist governments in Europe are in trouble and since we started our own socialist government (Roosevelt-Obama) we've dug our own hole! Redistribution of wealth is the oldest ruse a politician has and whenever its used it will destroy any capitalist system! Go read what the Columbia University marxists proposed in the 60's & 70's and how it bankrupted NY state and when implemented nationally has done the same to the whole country! If we'd used the same amounts of assets directed at productive enterprise vs. social engineering and tax dodges we'd be the wealthiest country on the earth and nobody could touch us...we took the wrong path right after WWII when we had everything and socialist politicians like Dwight, John F. & Lyndon sold us out to the commies...when Kruschev beat his shoe on the desk at the UN he knew exactly what he was talking about! One difference...in medieval times the king could fix everything in the blink of an eye and capital was just what you could raise in a set period of time! e plurius ratshit!

 

[Anonymous]

The answer is in the analysis. When the corporation is no longer a net benefit to its employees, or its customers, or its stockholders, it will be forced to change or die. If there comes a day when Merck needs particular employees, how they treat them in these days will determine how much it will cost them in the future. In one hundred little ways like this the corporation must change or die. Same with government. But to accelerate any such change, being organized is beneficial. Whether in politics or in the work force. Foreign governments have for years demanded that pharmaceutical companies provide jobs in return for tax breaks or market access. Our government does neither, for example. Pharmaceutical companies move their work overseas and then lobby congress for tax holidays to bring the profit back.

You still gave no solution. Just restated the problems and outcome based on your view. The bottom line is that large corps are not like a feudal kingdom because the employees have a choice to work there or not. The serfs had little to no choice in the middle ages. If you don't like the system go do something else or try to change it. This rehashed Marxist dogma grows tiresome.

 

[Anonymous]

You still gave no solution. Just restated the problems and outcome based on your view. The bottom line is that large corps are not like a feudal kingdom because the employees have a choice to work there or not. The serfs had little to no choice in the middle ages. If you don't like the system go do something else or try to change it. This rehashed Marxist dogma grows tiresome.

The funny bit is that you think us all one person. The solution to pharma is generics. Back off and just bottle the stuff and let some non-profit science re-invent itself before the next generation of grabbers turn it into business again. And no I am no marxist: I say sell bread or toys or halloween costumes and make money without pretending you are the saint savior of healthcare.