Replies to post #4815 on Distributed Digital Property Board

[Blue Fin]

Hi aleajactaest,

"While corporations provide benefit, they are also based soley on profit motives."

Arn't we all somewhat shocked that people who pool their capital to create an enitity for productive purposes would dare expect a return on their investment, in a capitalist society?
remember that there are millions of people who are buying food clothihg and shelter from their earnings, working for those corporations.
I thought the example of the gas tank explosion was a propagandist play, since it was the drunk that caused the damage. I once saw a man killed by a Sherman Tank, was it the tank manufactures fault that the tank ran over him?


bf

[goin fishn]

Hi Alea- thanks

I hadn't thought of profits in the way that you framed them, and that is an interesting twist that is new to me. So thanks.

Also- "While corporations provide benefit, they are also based soley on profit motives." does not convey the meaning that I intended.

I suppose the difference between what you and I are saying is the difference between means and ends. While the end result of a profit may indeed be a social good, the means of exacting that profit may contain, as you stated, externalities. Thus, the factory here near where I live that employs many and turns out profits for it's investors has also in the past failed to properly treat the effluent from the plant. The plant has both a good effect, and a bad one (an externality.) That was what I meant by my statement.

Externalities can occur for a number of reasons. Corporations may be ignorant, careless, incapable of controlling the externality, or, they may willfully choose to commit the externality. Why willfully? Because they look at it as a measured risk. If they are caught polluting a river, for example, they may be fined. The fine is a known quantity, and can thus be factored into a potential costs analysis. If they are not caught, so much the better.

Ray Anderson, the CEO of Interface corporation, says most corporations are externalizing machines. The more corporations get others to absorb their costs of business, the better their profits (his sentiments- but I partly agree)

Here is the Interface website

http://www.interfacesustainability.com/

CEO Anderson has committed Interface to eliminating externalities. Here is the company description from their website:

Interface is a recognized leader in the commercial interiors market, offering floorcoverings and fabrics. The company is committed to the goal of sustainability and doing business in ways that minimize the impact on the environment while enhancing shareholder value.

Interface was founded in 1973 by our Chairman, Ray Anderson. We were pioneers from the start-the trailblazers of the modular carpet industry in the United States. A generation later, we're pioneering a better way to a bigger profit.

Today, we are promoting sustainable business practices-within our global community and in the products we make. For Interface, sustainability is more than surface appearance. It's a belief that is built into our business model. It's an underlying corporate value, ensuring that business decisions are weighed against their potential impact on the economic, natural and social systems we touch. It's a means for our associates to deliver superior value to our customers and to our shareholders.

Interface is a global company with manufacturing locations on four continents and offices in more than 100 countries.