Evil Politicians! Film at 11!

[David Casseres]

MantaRay sez

>... What
>a country. I'm not being as hardline on my def. of "corporation" as others,
>because I don't necessarily equate business enterprise strictly with
>19th-20th century defs. of "corporate." I choose to associate business
>enterprise with the political machinery which places the profit motive first,
>and I can hardly agree that this is not inextricable with our current social
>fabric. So if one still wants to "idealize" indivdualism (which I don't think
>was "hijacked" either) as community's binary opposite, more "individual"
>power to ya. BUT I just think it is a mistake to assume that the corporate
>power structure today is not progressing on these same ideals to fill its
>coffers (choice, competition, merit blah blah blah). They are just words that
>blur to suit the political rhetoric of the time. I don't necessarily see the
>difference between todays "corporations" and the Church or the monarchies
>that provided it with a philosophy to flourish. 

I agree with practically all of that.  I was the one who made the crack 
about Them hijacking the name of individualism and using it to make 
corporate profitizing sound noble.  I don't idealize individualism, I 
just argued that it *was* an ideal in our culture.  And I certainly don't 
think individualism and community are binary opposites!  Both are 
necessities of humanity.

Cheers,
David