• Cethin@lemmy.zip
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    1 day ago

    Except they were!

    The Business Plot, aka the Wall Street Putsch is a 1933 example of an attempted fascist takeover by business people. Then there’s all the attacks on unions that they’ve done, and so many other examples. The elite are always trying to gain more power. They always have and always will.

    • Optional@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      In general, I’d agree, but I find that it’s usually the guy who started ThingCo who’s funding ALEC and the FOP rather than ThingCo as an organization. With banks, oil, pharma, (now tech), and Hobby Lobby excepted. Those aren’t the only corporations in the country tho. And there’s nothing that says corporations can’t be fair and do good. Employee-owned, sustainable, fair-trade, cruelty-free, organic etc., these are not bad things.

      I think she’s saying these are people with outsized power and thus outsized responsibility to keep blatantly illegal incompetence from disrupting everything have been worse than useless in the face of a shakedown, and that’s bullshit. It doesn’t seem crazy to me as a thought. They should be fighting because their business is going to get hit one way or another.

      • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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        1 day ago

        In general, I’d agree, but I find that it’s usually the guy who started ThingCo who’s funding ALEC and the FOP rather than ThingCo as an organization.

        Clearly you don’t know how willing companies are to work with Fascists. Historically, they are very willing to do anything that’s profitable. They only don’t break laws if they think it’ll cost more than they make.

        Employee-owned, sustainable, fair-trade, cruelty-free, organic etc., these are not bad things.

        These are exceptions, not the rule. Also, most of them are just greenwashing.

        I think she’s saying these are people with outsized power and thus outsized responsibility to keep blatantly illegal incompetence from disrupting everything have been worse than useless in the face of a shakedown, and that’s bullshit. It doesn’t seem crazy to me as a thought.

        They don’t have the responsibility to do shit, but I wish they would. I agree we should try to hold them accountable, but historically they are not. Just look at how many businesses became what they were because of their assistance to the Nazis.

        They should be fighting because their business is going to get hit one way or another.

        Yeah, I don’t know about that. If they fight back then they for sure get hit immediately by the fascist Trump regime. If they play along they may, but may not. They will probably even be rewarded in the short term, which let’s them get ahead of competition.

        • Optional@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          Clearly you don’t know how willing companies are to work with Fascists.

          I guess it just seems like WWII was a different time, but since it’s Never Okay, if your recent examples are anything more than republiQan funding, I’d be interested to hear.

          These are exceptions, not the rule. Also, most of them are just greenwashing.

          Everything’s an exception until it becomes the norm and - it keeps heading that way. Greenwashing keeps being exposed making it harder for the next fraud to get away with it. It’s not like the 60s where plastic and leaded gas are unchallenged.

          Just look at how many businesses became what they were because of their assistance to the Nazis.

          Yeah like IBM and . . . Ford? Well, a bunch of German business certainly. And although IBM isn’t the 800 lb gorilla anymore they’ve had to address their role and it’s all to the good of making the company accountable, the public aware, and that’s a positive. I remember as recently as the 2010s finding their role was not well known. I think that’s changed.

          They should be fighting because their business is going to get hit one way or another.

          I mean if they continue with the fash train they’ll be branded as such, and whether they do or even if they don’t, their market and resources are going to be negatively impacted by the incompetent chaos we’re in.

          • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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            1 day ago

            Yeah like IBM and . . . Ford? Well, a bunch of German business certainly. And although IBM isn’t the 800 lb gorilla anymore they’ve had to address their role and it’s all to the good of making the company accountable, the public aware, and that’s a positive.

            I think this represents the issue we’re having in the discussion pretty well. You assume they’re doing things out of good will. I think they’re doing it because they’re forced to. The outcome is the same for now, but if I’m right (which I’m very confident I am), as soon as it’s profitable they’ll do it again. What is there to lose for them?

            I mean if they continue with the fash train they’ll be branded as such, and whether they do or even if they don’t, their market and resources are going to be negatively impacted by the incompetent chaos we’re in.

            For the branding, what does it matter? They’re all playing ball. For the most part you can’t choose to avoid buying one of their products.

            As for the incompetence, I agree. That’s the only reason I think we’ve seen any push back from them. They invested in the Nazis because they were reliable. The Trump regime is anything but. Still, it’s better for them to be in their favor when everything crashes than to be on their own. It’s all going down no matter what. It doesn’t matter if you fought them or supported them. You’re on the same ship. You might as well get what you can out of it (in their opinion, because morality is not a factor).

            • Optional@lemmy.world
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              1 day ago

              . . . as soon as it’s profitable they’ll do it again. What is there to lose for them?

              What would IBM lose if they supported a holocaust again? Well - presuming we defeated those bastards again, they’d lose everything. I guess I just don’t buy that all corporate giants are salivating to support fascism, but maybe so. They’re certainly doing sweet fuckall against it at the moment.

              • Cethin@lemmy.zip
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                1 day ago

                What would IBM lose if they supported a holocaust again? Well - presuming we defeated those bastards again, they’d lose everything.

                Why do you think this? I’m actually curious. Volkswagen, for example, was literally a company that exclusively worked with the Nazis. After the war they were expanded to be even bigger. How many companies were actually harmed by working with the Nazis? How many have been harmed recently by working with fascists/extreme right wing groups?

                Edit: I thought I should add this here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_fallacy

                • Optional@lemmy.world
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                  7 hours ago

                  Two reasons:

                  One: Volkswagen is a German company so I’m not including them Two: IBM wouldn’t be able to claim “that was then” or “we made mistakes” because all of it has already played out.

                  The just-world fallacy, or just-world hypothesis, is the cognitive bias that assumes that “people get what they deserve”

                  I don’t think this is that. It’s not a karma thing. It’s a people vote with their wallets thing, and I don’t think we’re voting for out-loud-and-proud fascists. Seekrit crypto-fascists, of course.