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Change.org Raises $30M Led by Reid Hoffman; Sam Altman and Bill Gates Invest Too

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Re: Change.org Raises $30M Led by Reid Hoffman; Sam Altman and Bill Gates Invest Too

#101
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> > Basic, more modern human principles shouldn't be left to democratic vote What process should be used to decide which are these modern human principles that are too important to be left to majority rule, and who gets to participate in that process?

It's a centuries old question. I for myself am a Kantian ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categorical_imperative ) when it comes to morals (or at least I try to be one), but leaving aside what I believe, I think it is fair to say that majority rule has historically been against lots of things that we now see as being "morally good", so to speak.

It's a millennia old question, and still the best answer for how to produce collective agreements, on questions we do not collectively unanimously agree on, is simply to count the votes and do what most people want to do.

Yes, the majority has often wanted to do things we now think were reprehensible, and this is certainly an ongoing situation. But Churchill is still right: democracy is a terrible form of government, it's just that it's not quite as terrible as every other form we've tried.

And you haven't answered my question - what should we replace democracy with, and precisely how would that process work - and without answering that question it's tedious to make pronouncements about how much better some undefined alternative would be. G.K. Chesterton: "Revolutionaries are always right about what is wrong, and they are usually wrong about what is right." It's easy to see the flaws in something that exists in front of us. It's very hard to design something that would in actual fact be better.

Re: Change.org Raises $30M Led by Reid Hoffman; Sam Altman and Bill Gates Invest Too

#102
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure for-profit is appropriate either though (even if it's a b-corp, as Change.org is).

What are your reservations about a B-corp? Nonprofit legal status is hardly a guarantee of anything about corporate behaviour, aside from what paperwork they fill out. To be clear, I'm actually curious about it, especially because Bs are becoming mildly trendy, and I don't know that much about them.

I've got nothing against b-corps. In fact, I think they should be the default corporate form rather than one you need to opt into with specific language in the articles of incorporation (as in Delaware). But b-corps are still owned by investors. They are legally entitled to take into account considerations other than maximizing shareholder return. Whether they do or not is a separate matter; they are not obligated (although this can depend on state and type of entity, I believe). They receive funding as investments (with expectation of returns) rather than donations. Again, no problem with that as such. But if my choice is between government operated petition site and a petition site accountable to private investors (even if a b-corp), I wouldn't reflexively favor the latter.

Re: Change.org Raises $30M Led by Reid Hoffman; Sam Altman and Bill Gates Invest Too

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trump's still been invited on a state visit.

He was invited before any petition.

The petition was to convert it to a regular foreign visit, rather than a State Visit where he meets the Queen, etc.
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