Whom do you trust?

[flaja]

If a libertarian cannot trust the federal government, how can they possibly trust a corporation? If they cannot trust in the collective wisdom of 100,000,000 voters as embodied in the U.S. Congress how can they possibly trust the collective wisdom of the 3-400,000 shareholders in a company like Walmart?

[NortheastCynic]

Short answer: corporations exist because individuals willingly give them money, governments exist because they take money by force. Corporations are based on voluntary exchange, governments are not.

-NC

[Alonzo]

And here I thought the first libertarian was going to say "We don't actually trust corporations but........".

[NortheastCynic]

What reason has, say Wal-mart given me to distrust them as I do the gov't? Now replace "Wal-mart" with "federal government", and then try not to laugh.

-NC

[Alonzo]

I don't trust either, I just think the federal government is much better than the alternatives.

That being said, I'd trust the feds much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much, much (I'd type it more but my hands getting tired) more than Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart only purpose is to turn a profit, they have no other purpose. I have absolutely zero trust that they do anything other than that which is beneficial in terms of profit. The good they may do will be due to federal, state and local laws and public relations, which in turn will affect how much profit they make.

[April15]

I don't trust corporations as they are entities designed to make profit from working people while denying those workers compensation equal to the value of the product produced. I don't trust government because of leaders like BUSH.
I do trust myself!

[Labrocca]

"trust no one..." -Cicero

[PatrickHenry]

If a libertarian cannot trust the federal government, how can they possibly trust a corporation?
Perhaps I can explain this to you, flaja. The Feds have shown themselves to be liars who swear to uphold the Constitution of the United states, the instrument that legitimizes their authority over "the people." Yet they regularly violate the letter and the spirit of that honored document. President Bush is said to have exclaimed, "It's just a Goddamned piece of paper!"

In my view there is a lengthy history of disregard for the Bill of Rights. Examine the Tenth Amendment for a moment.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment10/
Yet the feds have not found it limiting their activities for decades. And we have seen an increase in federal tyranny. There are numerous other infringements of individual rights guaranteed by the BoR, but the Federal system is rife with abuse.

If they cannot trust in the collective wisdom of 100,000,000 voters as embodied in the U.S. Congress how can they possibly trust the collective wisdom of the 3-400,000 shareholders in a company like Walmart?
The voters a lulled to sleep by a nanny state system that engages in propaganda and lies. Only two parties in a nation of 300 million? Both of them connected below the waist to the same fundraiser apparatus?

Corporations will succeed or fail based upon the customer's perception of value for their products and the shareholders' returns on investment. A very clear case of market democracy. Occasionally, corporations will collude with the politically powerful to create conditions that impede democracy or fairness. We the people must be vigilant against such collusion, denouncing it and holding the government perpetrators accountable.

[Labrocca]

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty." -John Adams

[firefox]

I don't trust corporations as they are entities designed to make profit from working people while denying those workers compensation equal to the value of the product produced. I don't trust government because of leaders like BUSH.
I do trust myself!


April15, you're onto something here! Corporations are indeed nothing more than government created entities that shield business interests from responsibility in exchange for moolah. Without government, or at least much smaller government that didn't interfere with the economy by providing this "service", business owners would be directly responsible for their actions to consumers and their employees. If you don't like it, sue their pants off, or boycott them out of business. This can and should be done today, but it is made much harder than it would otherwise be because of government power.

[Labrocca]

Corporations are indeed nothing more than government created entities that shield business interests from responsibility in exchange for moolah.

I don't agree at all. I was incorporated for years. Never felt like Uncle Sam was helping me. Corporations are setup by individuals not the government.

[moses2792796]

If a libertarian cannot trust the federal government, how can they possibly trust a corporation? If they cannot trust in the collective wisdom of 100,000,000 voters as embodied in the U.S. Congress how can they possibly trust the collective wisdom of the 3-400,000 shareholders in a company like Walmart?


What a ridiculous statement, I'll take the judgement of 1 person with IQ >150 than the average judgment anyday. The more voters we have the less likely they are to make decision based on the good of the country. What voters want is more material goods over the next electoral term...and this is what we base decisions on. Come on people, it's time we stop assuming that the majority knows best, because frankly, they don't. Popularity does not determine somethings worth, especially in our world of corrupt values.