hmph

this is a post about corporate misdeeds. if you don't care then fuck off. and fuck your yankee bluejeans.

last night i rented a documentary called the corporation. it scared the bejeezus out of me. if you strive to be a conscientious global citizen and are not a completely crazed nihilst or laissez-faire in regards to capitalism, you need to watch it.

the only true legal mandate for a corporation is to act in a way that increase profits, that they operate only to satisfy shareholders. meager government regulations regarding public health and safety, the environment, worker rights, discrimination and a host of other human rights issues are only parts of an equation.

none of this is particularly novel; corporations are rightfully stereotyped as big, evil monsters trampling the rights of the (mythic) "little guy," and the environment.

frankly i've always been sort of a passive environmentalist. i'll recycle cans when i remember to, reuse my wal-mart bags, whatever doesn't excessively require work on my part. i can't feel satisfied with this anymore.

i'm never using paper plates or plastic silverware again. i love them dearly, lazy creature that i am, but i'll always see images of a five-legged frog or a boy born without eyes when i act in an environmentally reckless way.

people who advocate total privatization are nihilists. the movie reminded me of why a republican philosophy is so dangerous to the planet and the majority of its inhabitants (animals and vegetables). unbridled capitalism, or any system, is hazardous. a corporation is legally defined as a person with all the rights thereof, but only limited liability.

ford opted not to recall its pinto model in the 70's when it learned the gas tank easliy explodes on rear-end collisions because it would have cost $11.00 more per car to fix the defect than simply paying court fees for lawsuits brought on behalf of dead consumers. if you or i committed several murders we would be jailed for life or executed. not so for the inc.'s.

fuck, just watch the movie. this isn't good for my blood pressure.