Corporate totalitarianism?

Steve Thompson stevet at sendon.net
Thu Jul 26 08:24:44 PDT 2001



Quoting Aimee Farr (aimee.farr at pobox.com):
> I received the following today, by Robert Weissman, co-author of _Corporate
> Predators_, (corporatepredators.org) in regard to the Sara Lee Ball Park
> Frank Hot Dog incident, in which 21 people died. It prompted them to visit
> the White House to inquire as to 'a corporate death penalty.'

How strange.  It's always individuals working within a corporation who should
be culpable for offences committed as a result of its business practices.
Will this not have the effect of divorcing personal responsibility further
from the executive and employees of a company?

Furthermore, might not the `death' of a company in some cases penalise other
companies which depend on the products or services of the `offender' leading
to a reluctance to prosecute the largest and arguably the worst criminals?

At least when the responsible individuals are prosecuted, there is an
opportunity to `clean house' and reform the offending institution, as it
were.
 
> http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/corp-focus/2001/000081.html

It might be amusing to consider how many deaths Microsoft has caused.  You
know, all the strokes, heart-attacks, and anurysms resulting directly from the
frustration of having to re-install Windows after the n-th crash or virus
infection and the concomitant loss of data.

Let's have a two minute hate.  Chant "Lynch Bill Gates!" with your nearest
Party comrades when ready.


Regards,

Steve

-- 
``If religion were nothing but an illusion and a sham, there could be no
philosophy of it.  The study of it would belong to abnormal psychology....
Religion cannot afford to claim exemption from philosophical enquiry.  If it
attempts to do so on the grounds of sanctity, it can only draw upon itself
suspicion that it is afraid to face the music.''

      -- H. J. Paton, "The Modern Predicament"





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