npub1g0tuf634rz4suczwj7kgnecr6cyt0eu9xmp3sp0fku68mqehq4msp3tvm4 (npub1g0t…tvm4)
> this call for robust regulation of corporations would fit in with his previous work though
Yes, that was the first of his quotes I gave and I fully agree. It's the only way to limit the damage of capitalism on people and the environment.
No, I was stopped up short by the last thing I quoted him as saying:
"Prof. Joel Bakan described a “new” corporation ideology, which holds that corporations should take the lead on social and environmental issues and that they can regulate themselves."
Perhaps he was quoting someone else and I misapprehended that pull quote in the article?
Of course, there are many hundreds of examples why this is proven to be a stupid idea. Most recently we have the examples of:
- Thames water, siphoning out money as dividends, not reinvesting in infrastructure, so that now there are both water failures all over the place (more than any other water company [1]) along with pumping at least 72bn litres of raw sewage into the Thames only since 2020 [2]. On top of this, the Thatcher-era near gift of endless profits has been squandered to the extent that they must now come around to the government hat in hand begging money as they can't even afford the fines levied against them for their poor performance [1]. The lack of regulation and oversight has resulted in a broken system and near bankruptcy as the capitalist have over-fed from the commons for decades [3].
Thames Water is also the poster boy for the argument against privatization.
I chose Thames Water, because it's near you, but many recent examples of similar debacles easily come to mind.
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in California, USA also neglected its infrastructure and caused massive wild fires [4]. After killing at least 90 people [5] they too finally ended up in bankruptcy [6] leaving a legacy of crumbling natural gas and electrical infrastructure.
You know I could easily go on and on with other example like the Tar Sands in Canada or bauxite in Jamaica or...
But I'll close with Boeing. The USA decided that Boeing could oversee their own safety using their own engineers. You know the result: the loss of two aircraft and many hundreds dead, because they lied about the nature of the 747 MAX (it is NOT the same aircraft as it's 747 predecessors!). The MCAS system [7] was designed to cover up this lie. Of course, the hidden flaws don't end there! More recently a door blew out mid-air! But I'm tired of making footnotes. It's first thing in the morning for me. Just gone 04h30 in fact.
I can not even begin to imagine what magical recipes are contained in your book that might render capitalist corporations even benign vs their usual rapacious selves - never mind beneficial.
You did clobber me over the head with the fact that you're a prof and I'm, well, I'm a man with barely 8 years of primary education before setting off to work, but surely I can be made to understand the broad strokes of your solutions?
[1] https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/thames-water-refund-customers-poor-performance-ofwat-b1120145.html
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/10/thames-water-pumped-sewage-into-thames
[3] https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/thames-water-needs-substantial-funds-says-ofwat-ceo-1.1941390
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Gas_and_Electric_Company#Disasters
[5] https://the-spark.net/np1108202.html
[6] https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/pg-e-ceo-bill-johnson-to-step-down-from-bankrupt-utility-1.1425235
[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneuvering_Characteristics_Augmentation_System
Kermode /
npub1es…j809d
2024-02-08 12:42:39
in reply to nevent1q…q966
Author Public Key
npub1esqpguv50d5kgpklqazsd8t0nrwfdauwvy02yda44haxgfp2gzesaj809dPublished at
2024-02-08 12:42:39Event JSON
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"content": "nostr:npub1g0tuf634rz4suczwj7kgnecr6cyt0eu9xmp3sp0fku68mqehq4msp3tvm4 \n\u003e this call for robust regulation of corporations would fit in with his previous work though\n\nYes, that was the first of his quotes I gave and I fully agree. It's the only way to limit the damage of capitalism on people and the environment.\n\nNo, I was stopped up short by the last thing I quoted him as saying:\n\"Prof. Joel Bakan described a “new” corporation ideology, which holds that corporations should take the lead on social and environmental issues and that they can regulate themselves.\"\nPerhaps he was quoting someone else and I misapprehended that pull quote in the article?\nOf course, there are many hundreds of examples why this is proven to be a stupid idea. Most recently we have the examples of:\n- Thames water, siphoning out money as dividends, not reinvesting in infrastructure, so that now there are both water failures all over the place (more than any other water company [1]) along with pumping at least 72bn litres of raw sewage into the Thames only since 2020 [2]. On top of this, the Thatcher-era near gift of endless profits has been squandered to the extent that they must now come around to the government hat in hand begging money as they can't even afford the fines levied against them for their poor performance [1]. The lack of regulation and oversight has resulted in a broken system and near bankruptcy as the capitalist have over-fed from the commons for decades [3]. \nThames Water is also the poster boy for the argument against privatization.\nI chose Thames Water, because it's near you, but many recent examples of similar debacles easily come to mind. \nThe Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG\u0026E) in California, USA also neglected its infrastructure and caused massive wild fires [4]. After killing at least 90 people [5] they too finally ended up in bankruptcy [6] leaving a legacy of crumbling natural gas and electrical infrastructure.\nYou know I could easily go on and on with other example like the Tar Sands in Canada or bauxite in Jamaica or...\nBut I'll close with Boeing. The USA decided that Boeing could oversee their own safety using their own engineers. You know the result: the loss of two aircraft and many hundreds dead, because they lied about the nature of the 747 MAX (it is NOT the same aircraft as it's 747 predecessors!). The MCAS system [7] was designed to cover up this lie. Of course, the hidden flaws don't end there! More recently a door blew out mid-air! But I'm tired of making footnotes. It's first thing in the morning for me. Just gone 04h30 in fact.\nI can not even begin to imagine what magical recipes are contained in your book that might render capitalist corporations even benign vs their usual rapacious selves - never mind beneficial.\nYou did clobber me over the head with the fact that you're a prof and I'm, well, I'm a man with barely 8 years of primary education before setting off to work, but surely I can be made to understand the broad strokes of your solutions?\n\n[1] https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/thames-water-refund-customers-poor-performance-ofwat-b1120145.html\n[2] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/10/thames-water-pumped-sewage-into-thames\n[3] https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/thames-water-needs-substantial-funds-says-ofwat-ceo-1.1941390\n[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Gas_and_Electric_Company#Disasters\n[5] https://the-spark.net/np1108202.html\n[6] https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/pg-e-ceo-bill-johnson-to-step-down-from-bankrupt-utility-1.1425235\n[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneuvering_Characteristics_Augmentation_System",
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