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Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

I know that people think that I'm unduly harsh in my opinion of corporations. In my own defense, though, I think a disapssionate analysis of their actions bears out my views. As a case in point, consider this article about Facebook. There's a telling remark near the end: "a few bad actors cost everyone else billions in order to bring in millions – the savings a factory can realize from dumping pollution in the water supply are much smaller than the costs we all bear from being poisoned by effluent." Cory Doctorow calls this "corruption" but it is actually a widespread practice. Right now, for example, it is profitable for corporations to wreck a health care system or an education system that benefits millions of people all in order to capture some small part of that as private health care or private education. The true cost of corporate operations is rarely reflected in their bottom line, and until it is, they will be acting contrary to the interests of society as a whole. Via Doug Belshaw.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Nov 24, 2024 5:27 p.m.

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