You're completely right. But that doesn't change the fact that current publicly traded companies are legally required to maximize profits to shareholders above other goals.
That's 'the game' that's the problem. I want the most powerful companies in the world to be driven by more universally beneficial goals. We need different ways to organize and govern giant corporations. Fuck shareholders (please ignore my 401k), passive rent seeking is a cancer on the economy. Investment is a lubricant to grease the wheels of the economy. Too much lubricant, or of the wrong viscosity, gums up the works and moves energy from productive work to waste heat.
The East India Company might not be the best basis for a better corporation though. Using a private army to force unwanted drug imports into a sovereign state isn't something I want to see in this century. Though once the US cannabis industry reaches the power of big tobacco I expect it'll lobby the US to force imports into other countries. Which is hilarious because the US is responsible for lots of countries outlawing cannabis.
That's 'the game' that's the problem. I want the most powerful companies in the world to be driven by more universally beneficial goals. We need different ways to organize and govern giant corporations. Fuck shareholders (please ignore my 401k), passive rent seeking is a cancer on the economy. Investment is a lubricant to grease the wheels of the economy. Too much lubricant, or of the wrong viscosity, gums up the works and moves energy from productive work to waste heat.
The East India Company might not be the best basis for a better corporation though. Using a private army to force unwanted drug imports into a sovereign state isn't something I want to see in this century. Though once the US cannabis industry reaches the power of big tobacco I expect it'll lobby the US to force imports into other countries. Which is hilarious because the US is responsible for lots of countries outlawing cannabis.