Which do we have to fear the most, political/governmental tyranny or corporate tyranny?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Which do we have to fear the most, political/governmental tyranny or corporate tyranny?

Posted: 10/26/2013 1:24:55 PM EDT

Which do you feel has more interest in your liberty? Which is more likely to steal from you? Which is more likely to suppress you? Which is needs a healthy economy to expand? Which is actually tyrannical?

Posted: 10/26/2013 1:27:26 PM EDT

[#1]

Corporate Tyranny is easy to respond to, and is more than anything else a creation of the left wing of our government to be trotted out whenever a boogie man is needed to divert attention from what actual tyrants are doing.

Of course if you believe that every hump who shows up for work two out of three scheduled mornings at McDonalds deserves a "living wage", you will probably have a different opinion.

Posted: 10/26/2013 1:27:36 PM EDT

[#2]

Politicians seem to be driven by emotions and wanting to have control. The others by money, and more money.

Ill choose the corporate tyrants.

Posted: 10/26/2013 1:30:29 PM EDT

[#3]

Assuming there is a big difference here is so 20th Century.

Clearly Big Government has more power, but they are usually in bed with each other.

Posted: 10/26/2013 1:34:28 PM EDT

[#4]

The Government has been an attractive venue for assholes, therefore I fear the political tyrants, but there are some corporate tyrants
we need to keep our eyes on, such as Bloomberg, Soros, and that Microsoft Dickhead whose name escapes me right now.

Posted: 10/26/2013 1:47:53 PM EDT

[#5]

Not sure there's any difference. The wealthy are getting wealthier. The FSA is growing in number and "earning" power. The working middle class is being bled out by everyone who has the ability to get a piece of the pie.

Posted: 10/26/2013 1:58:13 PM EDT

[#6]

The answer to this is very, very simple.

Corporate powerhouses... have competition. Other corps. that will look to gain an edge, grab that little bit of market share, from any given corporation any way they can. In this way, they all have a very strong natural motivation to keep each other in check.

The government... has no competition. The only thing leaning against it to keep it from getting more and more powerful is its own sense of fair play

and regard for some scrap of parchment some dead white guys wrote way back in history days.

Posted: 10/26/2013 2:00:56 PM EDT

[#7]

Corporate tyranny, whatever that is, by definition would require the continuance of the capitalistic society. Lest they go broke.

Government tyranny....not so much.

Posted: 10/26/2013 2:05:08 PM EDT

[#8]

Aint met a corporation who has an army.........
You can take your money away from a corp you do biz with, but I have not found a way to take money away from politicians who piss me off.

If I fuck with my local insurance agency, paperwork and legal wrangling may ensue.
If I fuck with my local sheriff's dept, a SWAT team will do a no knock.

Posted: 10/26/2013 2:07:54 PM EDT

[#9]

WUT?

Posted: 10/26/2013 2:13:10 PM EDT

[#10]

What the fuck is "corporate tyranny"?

If such a thing existed, the solution would be pretty simple:

Don't buy their stuff.

Posted: 10/26/2013 2:14:18 PM EDT

[#11]

Correct answer is 'get both' - corporations loosely controlling the government which not so loosely controls the people

Posted: 10/26/2013 2:14:55 PM EDT

[#12]

In our current situation with a massive nanny state and government poking its nose into everything clearly it's political tyranny.

But, it isn't a bad question. money and political power aren't exactly unrelated, and absent any government regulation private entities/monopolies become a serious concern.

That's actually how the progressive movement gained so much power so quickly, and pretending the potential doesn't exist doesn't do anything but empower the left.

Posted: 10/26/2013 2:15:48 PM EDT

[#13]

uhhh...is there are difference?

"Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power." - Benito Mussolini

Has not happened here. Probably never will. /sarcasm.

Posted: 10/26/2013 2:33:33 PM EDT

[#14]

Corporations are behind much of the government BS. Between lobbying and corporate donations and including screwed up "scientific studies" that result in outlawing certain products in order to make something they've just developed more profitable they are doing a lot of damage.

Then again, the company I work for doesn't try to tell me what kind of car to buy/drive, what mpg's it should get, whether or not I can have a certain type of fire arm, etc., etc.

Posted: 10/26/2013 2:47:59 PM EDT

[#15]

.GOV tyranny is unpredictable in the fact that power mongers are in bed with idealists and others. Their drivers are multiple and mixed.

As long as you understand the rules, corporate tyranny is much less dangerous. Money motivation is manageable and somewhat predictable.

Posted: 10/26/2013 4:37:43 PM EDT

[#16]

Corporate tyranny?

Sounds a whole lot like Occupy Wallstreet B.S.

Posted: 10/26/2013 4:41:30 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:
Which do you feel has more interest in your liberty? Which is more likely to steal from you? Which is more likely to suppress you? Which is needs a healthy economy to expand? Which is actually tyrannical?

View Quote

Government is the worst. Corporations, at least, face competition.

...at least until they lobby government to stack the regulatory deck in their favor to hinder their competition. So there again, government.

Posted: 10/26/2013 4:43:16 PM EDT

[#18]

trying to figure out how I can be tyrannized by a corporation, other than the recent 1 year lapse in Twinkie production

Posted: 10/26/2013 4:43:28 PM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:
Corporate tyranny?

Sounds a whole lot like Occupy Wallstreet B.S.

View Quote

Facebook and Google are not run by nice people. They are run by people who are interested in mining every last bit of data about you that they can so they can command large amounts of money to market products and services to you.

Government wants to do the same, but isn't content with marketing. They want to control every aspect of your life. Plus, they have armed agents to force their will upon you.

So while corporations really aren't all that trustworthy, they're vastly superior to government tyranny.

Posted: 10/26/2013 4:43:29 PM EDT

[#20]

I fear any kind of tranny. The crying game still gives me nightmares!

Posted: 10/26/2013 4:44:26 PM EDT

[#21]

Government. Government makes the laws and can destroy your life with overwhelming force under that law.

Corporate tyranny can be...dealt with, in many ways.

Posted: 10/26/2013 4:45:43 PM EDT

[#22]

I'll go with government here, specifically Federal agencies:

EPA

OSHA

IRS

etc

They have the power to make rules and regulations, laws for all practical purposes, without having bills introduced in Congress, being debated, voted on, etc.

Posted: 10/26/2013 4:45:46 PM EDT

[#23]

Quote History

Quoted:
trying to figure out how I can be tyrannized by a corporation, other than the recent 1 year lapse in Twinkie production

View Quote

Very minor tyranny...like having your email read, web searches catalogued, mining your friendships and vital statistics to market stuff to you, attempting to keep you from using media content except in very specific approved ways that generate maximum profits for the corporation, etc.

These things are all unpleasant, but at best annoying because Zuckerberg can't dispatch armed agents to your house.

Posted: 10/26/2013 4:47:39 PM EDT

[#24]

Quote History

Quoted:
Assuming there is a big difference here is so 20th Century.

Clearly Big Government has more power, but they are usually in bed with each other.

View Quote

This. there's no discernible difference. It's a political elite flexing it's muscle over the hoi polloi and manipulating them for their own self-interests (those with the need to exert influence over others). Whether they are composed of media, big business/ industry/ research/ tech, political animals, academia, entertainment, etc... it's all the same. They all travel in the same circles, know the same people. Think the same way. Believe Dr Sowell described them as the anointed. It's the ones with the vision....

Posted: 10/26/2013 4:47:54 PM EDT

[#25]

I can refuse to do business with any corporation and not be shot, kidnapped, or threatened with violence for my refusal.

Try that with Big Brother, and let us know how it works out.

Posted: 10/26/2013 4:59:55 PM EDT

[#26]

Oh jeeze.

Okay, let me ask you this.

If you suddenly "go crazy" and go shop at K-Mart or (gasp) Target, is the Wal-Mart Secret Police going to come kick in your door, shoot your dog and then kill you for resisting?

But let's say you choose to not pay any taxes, or just don't pay on a few traffic tickets, or get really radical and disobey city ordinances and let the grass in your yard get really tall?

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/texas-woman-strip-searched-tossed-jail-paying-ticket-60-days-article-1.1497391

Which entity claims righteous authority to KILL you if you disobey them?

Corporations?

Or Governments?

I haven't seen the 1st Armored Costco Division out there. Or the 14th General Motors Armored Cavalry, either.

Posted: 10/26/2013 5:05:34 PM EDT

[#27]

Get both!

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Posted: 10/26/2013 5:07:12 PM EDT

[#28]

While it's possible for corporations to exert some level of control over the government, the government's entire purpose is to exert control. In either case. government is the tool of tyranny.

Posted: 10/26/2013 5:08:59 PM EDT

[#29]

Distinction without a difference in our current system. The government is simply the muscle for the corporations.

Posted: 10/26/2013 5:11:04 PM EDT

[#30]

Quote History

Quoted:
Oh jeeze.

Okay, let me ask you this.

If you suddenly "go crazy" and go shop at K-Mart or (gasp) Target, is the Wal-Mart Secret Police going to come kick in your door, shoot your dog and then kill you for resisting?

But let's say you choose to not pay any taxes, or just don't pay on a few traffic tickets, or get really radical and disobey city ordinances and let the grass in your yard get really tall?

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/texas-woman-strip-searched-tossed-jail-paying-ticket-60-days-article-1.1497391

Which entity claims righteous authority to KILL you if you disobey them?

Corporations?

Or Governments?

I haven't seen the 1st Armored Costco Division out there. Or the 14th General Motors Armored Cavalry, either.

View Quote

But they have in the past, and that past is at least partly the cause of the liberal wave we've suffered for the past 100 years. So it's not entirely unfeasible. What corporations have learned in that time, is that it's easier to get the government to control the people the way that meets their ends, rather than exerting that control themselves.

Again, government is the ultimate tool of tyranny, whether it's exerting it's control for the benefit of corporations, or in the name of "equality" or whatever other altruistic cause you can think of.

Posted: 10/26/2013 5:11:41 PM EDT

[#31]

I like neither. In a free market, I'd have options to deal with a corporate tyrant. We don't live in a totally free market so that's not always the case. Neither of our governments are freedom minded. At least mine is fiscally conservative.

Posted: 10/26/2013 5:15:29 PM EDT

[#32]

There is a difference?

What to fear more.....the stupid party or the evil party?

There's a difference?

Posted: 10/26/2013 5:32:06 PM EDT

[#33]

The only way that corporations can weld that much power over people is through "national socialism".

Like where the .gov "facilitates" a good or service and only "chosen" companies can participate "if" they are politically connected.

Or like when the designer of the ACA website is a personal friend/connected with the first lady. DOH

Sound familiar??????

Without a cooperating/controlled .gov the corporations are impotent and not able to control jack.

Posted: 10/26/2013 5:33:41 PM EDT

[#34]

Big Gov. and Big Corporations go hand in hand with the rise of the size and scope of government.

This country doesn't have a free market.

Posted: 10/26/2013 5:36:05 PM EDT

[#35]

Quote History

Quoted:
Corporate tyranny?

Sounds a whole lot like Occupy Wallstreet B.S.

View Quote

Posted: 10/26/2013 5:38:23 PM EDT

[#36]

Corporate tyranny?

How does capitalism work?

now the fact that the corporations are in bed with the gov is sort of a problem but that's more of a problem with government than corporations.

Posted: 10/26/2013 5:42:48 PM EDT

[#37]

Political tyranny has the force of law behind it, and is thus much more dangerous to liberty.

Posted: 10/26/2013 10:33:56 PM EDT

[#38]

A corporate tyranny would be much easier to influence and/or resist. A govt, not so much.

Posted: 10/26/2013 10:47:30 PM EDT

[#39]

Government for sure. Look at insider trading its illegal for for you or I too. But if your a politician its legal hard to compete aginst a stacked deck.

Posted: 10/26/2013 10:49:41 PM EDT

[#40]

With the demonrat propensity for picking the winners and losers?

You know what that is, don't you?

It's called "Fascism."

Posted: 10/26/2013 11:04:36 PM EDT

[#41]

Quote History

Quoted:
Aint met a corporation who has an army.........

View Quote

Or several dozen police agencies.

Or a tax collection organization with a penchant for persecuting dissenting citizens and organizations.

Or a massive intelligence-gathering complex with a history of eavesdropping on anyone, for any reason.

Posted: 10/26/2013 11:28:11 PM EDT

[#42]

Quoted:
Which do you feel has more interest in your liberty? Which is more likely to steal from you? Which is more likely to suppress you? Which is needs a healthy economy to expand? Which is actually tyrannical?

View Quote

There isn't any practical difference until you start getting into outright naked socialism.

Remember, the modern left is sort of a three way clusterfuck between the gov't/bureaucracy, political/ideological institutions (read: many universities, think tanks, NGO's, etc), and certain large financial institutions. They all think they're running the show, but when it comes down to it it's the gov't that has the guns.

To answer your question specifically, how do unfriendly corporations fuck with you? Through rent-seeking and cronyism, which requires the gov't. It's just a bunch of kinds of shit all in the same bag.

Posted: 10/26/2013 11:57:38 PM EDT

[#43]

Quote History

Quoted:
uhhh...is there are difference?

"Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power." - Benito Mussolini

Has not happened here. Probably never will. /sarcasm.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:
uhhh...is there are difference?

"Fascism should rightly be called Corporatism, as it is the merger of corporate and government power." - Benito Mussolini

Has not happened here. Probably never will. /sarcasm.

Came to post this.

Quoted:
Distinction without a difference in our current system. The government is simply the muscle for the corporations.

And this.

Posted: 10/27/2013 12:02:51 AM EDT

[#44]

Governmental tyranny is so problematic because they have a monopoly on the legitimized use of coercive force vis-a-vi physical violence. Now if some corporate entity could obtain the ability to use such legitimized coercive force (or arguably some more indirect form of coercion that carries as similar level of legitimacy depending on you political perspective) it very well could be as serious of a threat to liberty and personal autonomy not to mention free political participation. But at that point said corporate entity would generally be venturing into the realm historically associated with the nation state, not a private entity. But yes it is a legitimate question and does elicit some debate in the political science world (even if it's not necessarily phrased like that).

Posted: 10/27/2013 12:07:55 AM EDT

[#45]

Corporate tyranny doesn't twist the minds of your children like Government tyranny will.

Posted: 10/27/2013 12:21:08 AM EDT

[#46]

One thinks they have your best interests in mind. The other has their best interests in mind. Which one sounds scarier to you?

Posted: 10/27/2013 1:25:00 AM EDT

[#47]

Politicians in command of law officials and military, hold the biggest threat, the corp. financial sponsors of said
can pull a great deal of "strings" to get the most benefit for their "dollar donations". Interesting to note a corp. has equal protection
under the constitution as a living being, I find a bit of a stretch, but I have heard it has been said they are our equals by the courts.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Which do we have to fear the most, political/governmental tyranny or corporate tyranny?

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