Corporationalism

When this country was founded, it was begun on the principals of capitalism.
After 200 + years capitalism has evolved into corporationalism, and corporationalism is a dangerously dehumanizing concept. It has created a society where everything and everyone has a price tag attached to it. We are all "consumers" being spoon fed the ideals that will be most beneficial to the Great Machine that is America.

Go into any mini-mart or fast food restaurant as a customer and they will kiss your ass in the name of the all mighty dollar. Smiling every second as they collect the 3.79 from your pocket. What you don't know is that many of these companies are so wasteful it is sickening. For example, the Speedway, SuperAmerica company that operates thousands of gas staions across the country. This is a corporation that has 2 locations in my town, litterally blocks away from one another (the town isn't even that big). Each day the Krispie Kreem Donut company delivers @ 90 donuts to each store. When the deliveries come in, the donuts that were brought the day before are thrown away, usually that means @ 60 donuts. Yes 60 out of 90 are just thrown away. I know this for a fact because I worked there. The donuts aren't stale, they are perfectly edible. However when I approached a district manager with an idea of donating the unsold donuts I was shot down. "Thats against corporate policy", he said, almost appearing shocked that I would even dare suggest such a thing. The bottom line is that big companies would rather throw things away than see them be put to use, if that use doesn't generate income. Its not just Speedway. Many multimillion dollar companies share these practices.

I am sorry to say that I understand why other countries around the world view Americans as greedy and stupid. We follow whatever coporate policy that is laid upon us, no matter how ignorant it actually is, all in the name of money.

Land of the free......ain't nothin free here.

B

 

Us Americans are seen as greedy and stupid. we try to buy alliances from other countries by donating money to them when they get hit with a Tsnuami. Where were these countries when 911 happened? Oh wait, nevermind; some of those countries were the ones dancing in the streets when that tragedy happened. We always end up paying other countries out of their problems when we have our own to deal with. Forget the homeless in third world countries because we have our own needy to deal with. Taxes are being raised, prices are going up and yearly income is going down. School's don't have paper and we have to pay to ride hte school bus now. What is this country comming to? Corporate America sucks. I should know I'
m in marketing and sometimes i want to kill those judgemental business men adn women.

 

purco, how are you in marketing? you're 15! Is it an elective in highschool? Anyway, I advise you to find another type of profession because if you stick with marketing, you'll eventually become "one of them" and you'll start defending the evil actions of corporate America...fuck that, corporate Earth.

 

A technical studies highschool is my guess.

 

BTW is Corporationalism even a word?

 

"Forget the homeless in third world countries"

I strongly disagree with this statement because there are soo many people out there who have so much less than people in this country. I say quit being selfish and let's help everybody...we're all the same

 

exactly aesther!

peace attack, I think the right way to say it is "corporatism"...or how bout "corporate Empire"!

 

I’ve never really understood the problem with corporations. The original post mentions that everyone has a price and everyone can be bought. Corporations are very much the same. They do what they do according to the market. If the market doesn’t suggest that they should be using child labour than they won’t be using child labour. If the market suggests that they should be paying a decent wage in whatever country they open a factory, they will. If the market demands that they ensure good working conditions to all workers in the production process of their product, they have to. The principle of capitalism is the maximization of capital. The one thing that they are subservient to is the market. You are the market. Don’t buy their product and they will stop making it or at least begin making it in America again.

I know most people understand that. Those people argue the corporation targets the poor and the undereducated and the young in its marketing campaign. Here is where I fall off of the ‘social’ bandwagon, as I see a big bump ahead. The suggestion that the poor, undereducated and young are innocent victims is the suggestion that the poor can not govern themselves. Most sensible people understand their position and have it in their minds that ‘people ought not buy the evil corporations product’. It is in the ‘ought’ that we see that we really think they should be doing something different. It is in the ought that we suggest an aristocratic democracy. Because the poor can’t make the right decision (either because they are evil or because they are undereducated), what we suggest we ‘ought’ be making the decisions for them because they are unfit to make it for themselves. We suggest they are unfit because we know they buy the product.

Aren’t our viscous attacks on the corporation misplaced?

 

Dont be so rude to purcole. Marketing could be put to a good use. And at my school, if you want to be able to take half the day off of school and go to work, u have to take marketing, my friend Chris works at the recycle ing plant and before he could do that he had to take marketing.

Its a same we dont have a recycle place, that one is in a city a good distance from here.

 

OSF is right, the market controls the corporations. And the consumer drives the market. I, personally, hate the way corporations conduct their business. I despise corporate executives for taking every chance they get to exploit indiviuals. And I don't support their business for doing it. I don't shop at Wal-Mart or buy my gas from Shell.

The consumers are the same people slaving away at these corporations, the same ones complaining about them. Why don't the consumers take the power we have and use it? All of us (including myself) certainly complain about it. But the parking lot at Wal-Mart still remains full, and people keep buying up shares for these companies like they were the last drops of water on earth.

Basically, we built the social structure we are living in ourselves. And we continue to participate in it and propagate it. It wasn't just the rich folks, politicians, and corporate execs that brought us to this place, it was all of us. And if we worked for it, we could all change it. (Now getting that to happen, that is the real delima)

 

"Aren’t our viscous attacks on the corporation misplaced?"

Not at all. In fact, they're not aggressive enough.

I've been through this very topic so many countless times, I just don't have it in me anymore. All I can say is, read Naomi Klein's "No Logo". It puts it ALL into perspective...literally.

 

As much as I am not a big fan of corporations, I do not think they are evil. After all, they would not exist if most of us didn't allow them to. I have to make a point here. I used to work for Starbucks, now before you all boo and hiss at me, hear me out. I worked at a mom and pop coffee shop before that, however Starbucks paid me $2.00 more an hour and gave me health benefits. Call me a sell out if you like but here's another point: The town I live in is considered a "hippie" beach town. Well many of these "hippies" protested a Starbucks being put in. I keep putting quotes around the word because these "hippies" are druggies and bums who litter all over the beach. We are considered to have one of the dirtiest beach towns in Southern California. There are beach cleanups every year. Next to Surfrider Foundation, Starbucks was the largest group to participate. Along with the AIDs walk, and the Tsunami relief fund, etc. So all though I might not agree with many of their corporate policies, they do give alot of the money they make. And they only make it because people prefer their coffee over others.
Okay, one more point: regarding giving people money to kiss our ass? Umm, I personally would rather give money to someone who gives me outstanding service then treat me like shit. I hate going into these small businesses (restaurants, coffee shops) where the kids there act as though you have to belong to their club in order to eat there. I call it an abuse of a job. They should be happy they have a job, as many don't, and act like they want to keep it instead of being rude and disrespectful.

 

As if I already didn't say enough . After reading what I wrote I felt it seemed I was anti hippy, when in fact I consider myself to be one. I care about my fellow human beings, the earth and the beautful hippy values of peace and love. I'm just more realistic. I like to smoke pot occasionally but prefer not to sit around stoned all the time talking about how things should be different and not doing anything about it (the "hippies" I was referring to in my last statement are more like this). There are alot of "hippies" in my town that sit on the corner asking for hand outs while I'm inside making money at a job I don't totally love. Who's better off, me or them? Maybe they think they are or else they might not be doing it. All I can say is that I am now doing what I love, working as a massage therapist and that working in the service industry for 10 years helped me get here and afford to live.

 

I hate how the towns are beginning to look in a lot of places. Giant corporations remind me of a snake with many heads, all taking turns devouring the tail...Sign pollution is rampant, quality is down the tubes, and people are becoming zombies. Fast food shops are closing..gee what went wrong, fella? Not fast or greasy enough, didn't have your baseball hat on at just the right angle for the "company image?" Bad location right next to a mall.....what a tough break. Personally, I avoid big companies, and pay extra for quality. I have never been one for the hard sell, or high pressure sales tactics. May I suggest 2 films ?
Koyaanisquatsi...and Powasqquatsi ? They sum up world corporations who run rampant over the little guy, and rape mother nature. Powerful images....excellent photography, and musical score by Philip Glass. No dialogue, but a big message. I can't remember the last time I supported a Franchise, ate fast food, or shopped at a super store. I go to a tiny local gas station, for gasoline, brew my own coffee at home, and carry it in a thermos. Gillette, Proctor and Gamble, and General Electric...forget it....(and several hundred other corporate whores.) I support the little guy as much as possible, and buy imports from foreign countries to help them out. There are things made overseas we simply cannot obtain here. When Made in the USA matches the quality available in the past, I will be happy to buy US worldlies. Things just don't last as long as they used to. Until then, I support Craftsmen, and the "little guy" and "little woman" who still make old fashioned quality. Cottage Industries...we call them....the people Wal Mart put out of business, in some cases, and now work from homes, and garages...flea markets...

 

I goto a technical studies high school. Just incase your wondering I'm going to be a some time of environmental marketer. I will be trying to market saving the environment to a new and much younger target market for the purpose of reaching them early.

 

Where the heck did you think I got my argument? No Logo is the reason that I can legitimately say that we are misplacing our attacks. Klein makes it perfectly clear that the marketers attack the underprivileged.

 

Good point there.

 

It may be a bit off-topic, but you know what bothers me? For example, after Hurricane Katrina, the world's attention was set on New Orleans; it was ALL OVER the news EVERYWHERE, NON-STOP. Of course, it was a terrible tragedy, but it wasn't much worse than when hurricanes Stan or Wilma hit Mexico and Guatemala, and it was definitely far less tragic than the October 2005 earthquake in India that killed an estimated 41,000 people and left millions homeless. However, it seems the latter disasters didn't get a fraction of the attention and news coverage that Katrina got worldwide. It seems that if something happens in the US it's more important, as if the lives of US citizens were more valuable than the lives of people from other countries, especially developing countries. I really hated seeing that Mexico sent military aid to New Orleans, when there are millions of people in Mexico who desperately need aid too, without the need of a devastating hurricane. And the worse part was that, when Stan hit Chiapas and Guatemala, and Wilma hit the Yucatán peninsula, I didn’t see the US government sending any help our way.

 

I like lotus butterfly's approach and attitude..it's not all the same way

I'm also a "little guy" and "little woman" suporter like desert stargazer, altough I didn't watch those movies. what strange names, are their american movies? do you konw waht those words means? (they look like finnish..)

 

I personally believe that supermarkets are the symbol of consumism..it's absurd that so much food so many goods are just thrown away, just because of a market's rule. capitalism is like a machine, which produces 24h, without stopping and supermarkets are the big distribuiters, handing out stuff which is available for a few days, then stop: what hasn't been sold has to be annihitilated..more prepackaged stuff is ready to be displayed on shelves..

I also find horroble, the urbanistc look resulting from the big food and other chain companies..it makes all look the same and fake.. the hideoust one..I've ever seen, was in Freiburg (germany): a Macdonalds "restaurant" was placed into the city's old-main-medioeval- arch-shaped-wall..