more on Hi-tech firms censured over China

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Thomas Leavitt <thomas () thomasleavitt org>
Date: December 20, 2005 5:28:41 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: Hi-tech firms censured over China

Dave,

 Corporations have no morals. This is a fundamental principle. Their
sole legal and moral obligation is to produce the highest possible
return on investment to their shareholders - the only rationale for
ethical behavior on their part is that it is generally good for
business. The greater social impact of their actions is irrelevant - if
they can make a profit by destroying $10 worth of value to the commons
for every $1 in private value they create, they will do so (witness the
vast environmental degradation they've wrought and continue to wreak in
places like Nigeria, Ecuador and Indonesia).

 Or, at least, this is how they've been set up and have functioned over
the last century. Until and unless the regulatory and legal structure
under which they are chartered says different, nothing is going to
change that.

Regards,
Thomas Leavitt

From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: Hi-tech firms censured over China
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 16:55:24 -0500



Begin forwarded message:

From: pat hachon la breloque <tercasa () prodigy net mx>
Date: December 19, 2005 4:25:58 PM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: ip () v2 listbox com
Subject: Hi-tech firms censured over China

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4541524.stm


A senior EC official has criticised hi-tech firms for helping China
silence its domestic critics.
In a blog entry, EC vice president Margot Wallstroem said Microsoft,
Yahoo and Google were matching their morals to suit new markets.

In particular she said the firms seemed to have deleted words such as
"ethics" and "corporate social responsibility" from their codes of
conduct.


Patrice H. Sovet

TerCaSa
52-55  /  17.100.160
52-55  /  17.36.90.90
telcel 04455 /  1014.8180




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