Who directs our future? We the People, or They the Corporations

[Az]

Our advancing science and technology are making serious changes to our world. Yet we continue to allow ourselves to be lead into this future by entities that do not have our best interest in mind.

Robotics and other production technologies may soon render manual labor and resources shortages a thing of the past. Yet these advantages may well be kept from us by the Corporations. They will make use of the technologies that enable them to manufacture at cheaper costs but they will keep systems which enable us to manufacture our own products from us.

As technology becomes available to the people that challenges corporations hold on power they attempt to kill it off. An examination of the struggle over recordable DVDs and other high capacity digital recording devices show that our desires are not in line with corporate desires. What happens when technology that is of increasingly greater service to us yet destructive to corporate desires becomes possible? If the system does not serve We The People then We The People wind up serving the system.

The single most profitable industry right now is pharmocalogy. They hold our lives in their hands and are wringing every single dollar they can. Fixing problems is not in the industries interest. Continual treatment is the focus. Addiction the goal.

The research needs to be focused on how to better our lives rather than on how to best profit from the illnesses. Research into telemers or other genetic mysteries may well enable us to change the very nature of longevity and health. If the path is controlled by corporations rather than the people we will be lead into a culdisac and mugged for every last trace of our humanity.

The world is changing. If we do not stand up and direct where we are going then social entities that are willing to direct us will do so. Their interests may not be in line with our own. Do we simply leave ourselves to their goals and desires or do we stand and fight to take back the tiller of this ship called Earth?

[leftyandproud]

1. I tend to be suspicious of corporate power...BUT..

the only way for these people to make the profits is to find ways to better our lives...They won't make a dime in profit if they don't cure diseases, so it is in their selfish interests to find the cures.

[Az]

4. Cures vs Addictions

Which project do you think gets more attention. The one to rid the world of a disease or the one that finds a treatment for its symptoms?

There is a movie called The Man in the White Suit. Starring Alec Guinness. Plot revolves around the discovery of a material that is indestructible, cannot get dirty, lasts forever. The company that sold the material put the rest of the industry out of business inside a year and were themself soon nearly out of business. The trouble was that people only needed the one suit.

Corporations cannot develop one shot products. Something that lasts the lifetime of the consumer. Obselesence has to be built into the product. They need us to be addicted to them to maintain their profitibility.

[leftyandproud]

8. seriously..

I don't buy this conspiracy theory stuff...I think if a corporation really found the cure for cancer or AIDS, they would not hold it back. The demand would be so huge for this that they would make hundreds of billions in profit--and this is not an exaggeration. I don't think they would hesitate to get a patent lock on a real cure--It would mean far more money for them than just 'treating' the disease. I know we don't even bother using many treatments in africa because they just slow down the inevitable death of the people--keeping them alive longer is likely to make AIDS spread even more, so there is no point. If they had the CURE however, one dose for every human infected with aids X 50 or $100 a dose (minimum) would mean literally hundreds of billions for the corps.

[Az]

9. Conspiracy?

No need for a conspiracy. Its simple business law. We operate by the laws of nature. They have provided us with a drive to build a social structure in which we thrive. Corporations have their own set of rules they operate by. Theirs is the true realm of so called social darwinism.

Companies have proven time after time that unless they are watched they will do that which is most profitable to them even at the cost of our quality of life. If the CEO of one company is not willing to go down that dark road their company will be overtaken by one that will. Business law. No need for conpiracy.

Companies currently destroy every peace of documentation they can get away with destroying to avoid leaving paper trail. Constant attempts to avoid accountability to the public are made.

If a cure for aids is found it will come from a publically funded organization. Its distribution will be tax funded and not privately funded. For profit corporations are not in the business of putting themselves out of business. Companies are not in business to make you or me happy. The only time they engage in social awareness programs is to ease the alienation people feel towards them. If the people become too aware of their predation they begin to reject them.

[wakfs]

5. They are evil

If pharmaceutical companies could produce nothing but placebos and still be profitable, then they'd do it.

[sandnsea]

6. Price controls don't stop profits

Bulk buyers get great deals on medication but don't pass the savings on to consumers. That's how Canada sells its medication so cheaply for instance. Every developed country has some sort of control on the prices charged for prescriptions except the U.S. Britain is still managing to produce cures for disease, even with price controls. The power company and phone company made money with price controls and didn't stop R&D. I think it's a bunch of hooey. We're cowed by these corporations and their marketing of fear.

[whoYaCallinAlib]

10. In the short run, you are right.

However, in the long run, you may have trouble finding support for your position in mainstream economics.

[sandnsea]

11. Been working for at least 100 years

No reason to think it's going to stop. My power costs 5.2 cents a KWH and was only raised from 4.8 cents because of Enron. How much is yours?

[opihimoimoi]

2. Greed and selfishness controls the mega Corps. They in turn

wish to advance their profit margins even at the cost of lowering our(the masses) standard of living.

Predict and Control.

This is the Over View the Pubs have.

They want CONTROL, then they can PREDICT... the profits that is.

Its all about money, fuck the masses.

[Drifter]

3. Follow the money ...

I suspect the group that provides the most money, will undoubtedly have greater influence over direction of our future.

Sad but True

Cheers
Drifter

[FloridaPat]

7. Look at history. "We the People" have never had contral of

the US. Originally the only people who could vote were "landed gentry" - the business owners. The second election took away the rights of female landed gentry to vote. Until the Depression, 50% of the population were dirt poor. The only people that run are the ones who can find the money. The only ones with that much money are self employed or corporations. Look at the tax structure. Corporations pay taxes on earnings. They get to subtract all expenses before they pay taxes. We the People pay taxes on all our earnings first. This country has always been run by the Big Boys. Still is. And as long as We the People are well fed and think we have a future, we will always be "guided" (mislead) by the Powers that be.

[KT2000]

12. Corporate Cure or cause?

Corporations will not find cure because to do that they will have to investigate the cause. This will take them right to their own doorstep. Instead they will manage symptoms and continue to stonewall the search for cause when it has the potential to involve such things as chemicals used in commercial products. Pharmaceutical comapanies have been buying up chemical companies - as in those that make pesticides that are dousing our world daily.

Genetic research is pointing to the following:

Genetic predisposition + environmental insult (100,000 chemicals are in comercial use today and they are in our air, food, water, household goods) = disease
the likelihood of being exposed to a chemical that will trigger disease is greater every day as more chemicals are put into the environment.
Everyone has a genetic flaw that will trigger disease - otherwise we will live forever!