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The company I work for is losing all of its humanity, I don't know where to go

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Re: The company I work for is losing all of its humanity, I don't know where to go

#61

Post by altern8 »

internet2000 wrote: post #51
pebble wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to sound like a hippie but we could just try to be a bit kinder to each other and not put money as the single most important thing above all else. You can run a business to make money AND do it in a way that leaves our world in a slightly better state than you found it. It’s not a black and white choice of either we jump hardcore into capitalism or all the other way into socialism. Similarly to OP I work at a com…

So you're talking about a set of values, not the economic system. The "capitalism" mention was bit of a non-sequitur, then.

Yes, exactly.

Which is good, I can't figure out how anybody can see the government owning everything as a good thing for anyone.

If you just look at postal services across the world, as an example, or anything else run by government, they're 100 times less efficient then competitors and their workers always look like they're super-miserable. Imagine if that was the only option.

Re: The company I work for is losing all of its humanity, I don't know where to go

#62

Post by internet2000 »

pebble wrote: post #60
internet2000 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're talking about a set of values, not the economic system. The "capitalism" mention was bit of a non-sequitur, then.

Well all the things OP complained about are inherently caused by capitalism but I think it’s probably possible to engage in capitalism in a way that is cognizant of those issues and actively trying to avoid them instead of treating them as eh that’s just how business is done

Then I'd suggest, in good faith, avoiding the "Ugh, capitalism" framing in the future. That just comes across as lazy, which doesn't help your point. As exemplified by the replies you got, all arguing about words.

https://www.persuasion.community/p/ugh-capitalism

Re: The company I work for is losing all of its humanity, I don't know where to go

#63

Post by altern8 »

DonaldPShimoda wrote: post #26
altern8 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

You haven't looked up what "capitalism" or "communism" is nor considered the possibility of other alternative economic systems, I see...

I have. What are other options?

Capitalism, socialism (what people refer to as communism), and then communism which will never exist because it always stops with the government stealing everything and not wanting to give up power to move on to communism.

What are other economic systems? Not saying there aren't any other ones, I just don't know.

Re: The company I work for is losing all of its humanity, I don't know where to go

#64

Post by altern8 »

krapp wrote: post #58
internet2000 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're talking about a set of values, not the economic system. The "capitalism" mention was bit of a non-sequitur, then.

Capitalism is a moral framework as much as it is an economic system, especially in the US where it is deeply entangled in the Protestant work ethic and prosperity gospel ideals.

Is that in any dictionary, though? Capitalism means capitalism, free market with citizens owning companies.

If it's deeply entangled in the Protestant work ethic and prosperity gospel ideals in the U.S., then what's bad is the Protestant work ethic and prosperity gospel--whatever that might be.

Re: The company I work for is losing all of its humanity, I don't know where to go

#65

Post by josefritzishere »

I look forward to the day that AI slop is embarrassing for executives. We're at an inflection point for the herd mentality moment where they're dreaming of mass layoffs. When AI proves incapable of delivering ROI the wave will roll back.

Re: The company I work for is losing all of its humanity, I don't know where to go

#67

Post by pebble »

altern8 wrote: post #57
pebble wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to sound like a hippie but we could just try to be a bit kinder to each other and not put money as the single most important thing above all else. You can run a business to make money AND do it in a way that leaves our world in a slightly better state than you found it. It’s not a black and white choice of either we jump hardcore into capitalism or all the other way into socialism. Similarly to OP I work at a com…

I'm not following you. Capitalism just means free market. Private individuals own the companies instead of the government, and they do that with the main goal of making money. I can't figure out why that must necessarily mean that those companies can't leave the world in a slightly better place. A LOT of them do, specially small businesses. I've seen the destruction that socialist governments left even after decades…

Sure, as a theory capitalism is just a free market but I obviously mean capitalism as it exists today and shapes our entire world. And socialism has it's own can of worms, sure.

But what I was responding to in particular with my original comment was the parent commenters claim that "It’s just business" and that engaging in capitalism means you must inherently engage in the practices the OP was complaining about.

Re: The company I work for is losing all of its humanity, I don't know where to go

#68

Post by krapp »

altern8 wrote: post #64
krapp wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Capitalism is a moral framework as much as it is an economic system, especially in the US where it is deeply entangled in the Protestant work ethic and prosperity gospel ideals.

Is that in any dictionary, though? Capitalism means capitalism, free market with citizens owning companies. If it's deeply entangled in the Protestant work ethic and prosperity gospel ideals in the U.S., then what's bad is the Protestant work ethic and prosperity gospel--whatever that might be.

Capitalism is what capitalism does. Name one "capitalist" economy strictly and exclusively defined by a "free market with citizens owning companies." None. There are no free markets. Governments always own some interest in companies, regulate and interfere in markets. Culture and morality always influence class and power hierarchies, and by extension economic systems. The real world is more complex than dictionary definitions allow.

Re: The company I work for is losing all of its humanity, I don't know where to go

#69

Post by sublinear »

krapp wrote: post #50
sublinear wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A remote worker who hates McDonald's in 2026 is an "elite"?

If they're on Hacker News, there's a good chance they've never made less than a six figure salary in their entire life, which would certainly place them in the upper 5% of wealth globally. So while it isn't a certain bet it is a safe bet. And if it doesn't apply to you, it doesn't apply to you. There are plenty of people here it does apply to.

Yeah... that's 1 in 20? The smart kid in the back of the class grew up? I'm not sure who you were expecting that person to become.

If the barrier to becoming an "elite" is that low and you still consider 6-figures a meaningful benchmark in a world that sells big macs for 10 bucks, are you also calling anyone running even a modestly successful small business "elite"?

I'm not even sure I'm engaging with a meaningful political statement here. The barriers to this level of "success" are more reliably psychological, not systemic. You're basically upset at anyone with a career. There are definitely things we need to do to help those struggling, but yelling here is slacktivism.

Re: The company I work for is losing all of its humanity, I don't know where to go

#70

Post by altern8 »

pebble wrote: post #67
altern8 wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not following you. Capitalism just means free market. Private individuals own the companies instead of the government, and they do that with the main goal of making money. I can't figure out why that must necessarily mean that those companies can't leave the world in a slightly better place. A LOT of them do, specially small businesses. I've seen the destruction that socialist governments left even after decades…

Sure, as a theory capitalism is just a free market but I obviously mean capitalism as it exists today and shapes our entire world. And socialism has it's own can of worms, sure. But what I was responding to in particular with my original comment was the parent commenters claim that "It’s just business" and that engaging in capitalism means you must inherently engage in the practices the OP was complaining about.

They didn't mention capitalism, "it's just business" just means that's how it goes.

If the government owned the company OP works at, it would still be "just business" according to the commenter.

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