10 thoughts on “Stakeholder Capitalism”

  1. This sounds like the mindset behind the Moon Treaty and the Law of the Sea Treaty. Go ahead an spend all the money you want to harvest resources, but if you’re successful, the rewards are to be shared by all mankind. It’s the old Soviet “What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is negotiable” attitude.

  2. “Stakeholder capitalism” is just another way of saying “property is theft.”

    And no, it’s not “what’s yours is negotiable.” It’s “what’s yours is mine.”

    1. The Free Software people liked to point out that there was a distinct difference between: “Free as in Air and free as in ‘Free Beer’…”. These people want to drink someone else’s beer.

  3. Reminds me of state capitalism which similarly breaks private ownership of capital. Something isn’t capitalism just because the word appears in the phrase.

  4. Speaking of “stakeholders”…

    I remember many years ago when NASA started talking about “stakeholders”, and I asked them “You mean the taxpayers?” and they said “No, Congress and Boeing and Lockhart and OSC and so forth”. I.e. the people who have a stake in receiving NASA’s funding, not those who provide the funding in the first place.

    That’s when I knew for sure that NASA wasn’t headed anyplace fruitful for the American people.

    FWIW, I also have issues with shareholder capitalism that hews to the idea that the purpose of a corporation is to return maximum value to the shareholder, a philosophy that has led to much corruption in our current body economic.

    What is the purpose of General Motors? Return maximum value to the shareholder.
    What is the purpose of General Electric? Return maximum value to the shareholder.
    What is the purpose of ad infinitum? You get the point. Although here it is that the companies ended up as finance companies with a weak manufacturing component. Because finance returned maximum value to the shareholder.
    The purpose of GM is to build the best darn cars out there that people want to buy. Doing so will return greater value to their shareholders.
    The purpose of GE is to make the best darned electrical hardware in the world. If they do so profits will follow.
    The purpose of IBM is to make the best darned computers in the world. The purpose of AT&T is to provide the best phone services. And so forth.

    Lord there’s so much stinkin’ thinking in this country right now.

  5. “…issues with shareholder capitalism that hews to the idea that the purpose of a corporation is to return maximum value to the shareholder…”

    As the Earth rotates, each morning the Sun appears to rise.

    It appears that you think that the sun is doing the moving.

    1. “ It appears that you think that the sun is doing the moving.”

      LOL! No. Though I would note that the Sun is moving, just not in the frame-of-reference you cite.

      Got anything better than condescending insults?

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