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Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

nytimes.com

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Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#231

Post by golergka »

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #213
golergka wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but none of us gets a free pass from morality, not even in business. What? It's certainly not the business role to make any moral decisions - while we don't yet have true simple responsibility principle in our society, we're thankfully have some separation of responsibility. If you think that a certain country is immoral and we shouldn't do business with it, lobby for sanctions - this way all businesses will have t…

> What? It's certainly not the business role to make any moral decisions You forget that businesses don't make decisions at all. A business is not a person, it has no capability to make decisions. The employees that work for the company make the decisions, and they certainly have an obligation to behave ethically.

> they certainly have an obligation to behave ethically

What? How exactly did they enter into this obligation? Also, how on Earth can you have an obligation that involves a term that everyone interprets in his own way?

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#232

Post by jamesrcole »

megaman22 wrote: post #5

The tech industry has, historically and in aggregate, had pretty solid rates of returns. If I was sitting on a dwindling store of natural resources as my primary store of wealth, I would probably want to try to diversify that wealth into other areas and grow that wealth aggressively while my potentially limited income source is still highly profitable. I'm not sure that more nefarious aims need to be posited than sim…

> I'm not sure that more nefarious aims need to be posited than simple avarice.

Without making any comment on the issue of Saudi money, I take issue with the reasoning there. That's effectively saying "there is a simple potential explanation, therefore there's no need to investigate". It's not like being simple therefore means it is the correct explanation, not does it mean that other potential explanations are therefore wrong or invalid.

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#233

Post by Kurtz79 »

harryh wrote: post #43
zodiac wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article is really asking "why does the tech industry accept Saudi money?", not "why does Saudi Arabia invest in tech companies?"

Same answer: simple avarice. There is a lot of Saudi money and they are willing to invest it. And their money is just as good for hiring programmers and renting servers as anyone else's.

As the ancient Romans said, "Pecunia non olet".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecunia_non_olet

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#234

Post by jamesrcole »

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #201
PeachPlum wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

amoral, not immoral but even then I disagree, just look at the life expectancy of the billions of people under capitalism. Milton Friedman - Is Capitalism Humane? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHPI1emZFVg

"The least of several evils" is not the same thing as "good".

But what if it's the least evil of all the available options? That doesn't itself make it "good" but that does make it the best option available.

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#236

Post by throwanem »

xbmcuser wrote: post #228
golergka wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but none of us gets a free pass from morality, not even in business. What? It's certainly not the business role to make any moral decisions - while we don't yet have true simple responsibility principle in our society, we're thankfully have some separation of responsibility. If you think that a certain country is immoral and we shouldn't do business with it, lobby for sanctions - this way all businesses will have t…

US government has proped up Saudia for years US states and cities and have taken billions in investment form Arab countries I don't get why this question is being asked of the US tech industry alone.

Because traditional media like newspapers, even one like NYT that's handled the last couple of decades as well as any, never miss a chance to take a potshot at the upstarts over in SV, especially when something like the current election influence brouhaha has them already on the back foot.

You're right; it would be much more honest to ask about the influence of Saudi money and Saudi oil in American business, government, and society more generally. But that's not a conversation anyone close to power wants to have; for one thing, the conclusions are uncomfortable, and for another, no one's hands are clean.

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#237

Post by charlesdm »

clairity wrote: post #153
harryh wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same answer: simple avarice. There is a lot of Saudi money and they are willing to invest it. And their money is just as good for hiring programmers and renting servers as anyone else's.

> And their money is just as good for hiring programmers and renting servers as anyone else's. maybe you didn't mean it this way, but i was struck by the nonchalance of this statement, as if being able to spend money justifies taking the investment. and i presume that's exactly why the article was written, to question that kind of stance. now i love tech, and will defend our ability to progress and advance and make n…

Some people just don't care where the money comes from, and just want to put together the best deal.

If a US investor offers you $50m for 10% of your company, and a Saudi investor offers you $100m for 10% of your company -- which one would you take?

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#238

Post by abhi3 »

charlesdm wrote: post #237
clairity wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> And their money is just as good for hiring programmers and renting servers as anyone else's. maybe you didn't mean it this way, but i was struck by the nonchalance of this statement, as if being able to spend money justifies taking the investment. and i presume that's exactly why the article was written, to question that kind of stance. now i love tech, and will defend our ability to progress and advance and make n…

Some people just don't care where the money comes from, and just want to put together the best deal. If a US investor offers you $50m for 10% of your company, and a Saudi investor offers you $100m for 10% of your company -- which one would you take?

What if Al Capone offers you 200m for 10%?

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#239

Post by Aaargh20318 »

golergka wrote: post #231
Aaargh20318 wrote: post #213

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What? It's certainly not the business role to make any moral decisions You forget that businesses don't make decisions at all. A business is not a person, it has no capability to make decisions. The employees that work for the company make the decisions, and they certainly have an obligation to behave ethically.

> they certainly have an obligation to behave ethically What? How exactly did they enter into this obligation? Also, how on Earth can you have an obligation that involves a term that everyone interprets in his own way?

> How exactly did they enter into this obligation?

By being born.

Re: Saudi Money Fuels the Tech Industry. It’s Time to Ask Why

#240

Post by Chris2048 »

clairity wrote: post #153
harryh wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same answer: simple avarice. There is a lot of Saudi money and they are willing to invest it. And their money is just as good for hiring programmers and renting servers as anyone else's.

> And their money is just as good for hiring programmers and renting servers as anyone else's. maybe you didn't mean it this way, but i was struck by the nonchalance of this statement, as if being able to spend money justifies taking the investment. and i presume that's exactly why the article was written, to question that kind of stance. now i love tech, and will defend our ability to progress and advance and make n…

The population is large and diverse. There are lots of people willing to begin startups. Some won't accept Saudi money, some will. Those who will survive better. It's as simple as that - Saudi money created a lot of the tech industry, so the survival bias is what creates a tech industry willing to accept that money.
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