Conscious Capitalism

[kennyc]

Great video by Whole Foods CEO John Mackey

http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2011...oods.cnnmoney/

I agree. Too many companies are focused only on shareholders and the bottom line.

[wyndslash]

deleted :P

[WT Sharpe]

I should read that book again. I read it about 30 years ago, and now can't remember anything about it except for the fact that I found it fascinating.

...and that ever since reading it, I salivate whenever I hear a bell ring.

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I should read that book again. I read it about 30 years ago, and now can't remember anything about it except for the fact that I found it fascinating.

it's very fascinating, though BF Skinner isn't exactly a great writer (his characters are a bit flat). but it's the point of the story that gets me, as well as the fact that its utopia is a bit more realistic in that the characters actually tried it out, and also because it doesn't seek to isolate its people from the rest of the world.

[kennyc]

I don't think it's capitalism to blame, but I do think it is corporations and corporate law.

[WT Sharpe]

There is a great quote from B.F. Skinner that I've tried to track down for years. I originally read it in a religious tract, and that's not exactly an acceptable source for scholarly work. Furthermore, I have to quote it from memory, so don't take this one to the bank, but here it is (attributed):

"The picture that emerges from science is not that of a body with a person inside, but of a body which IS a person, in that it displays a complex repertoire of behavior."

It's a great quote, but for all I know, the author of that small tract may have pulled it out of his hat. Skinner may not have said it at all.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I don't think it's capitalism to blame, but I do think it is corporations and corporate law.

Are you saying that unbridled capitalism is the problem?

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

There is a great quote from B.F. Skinner that I've tried to track down for years. I originally read it in a religious tract, and that's not exactly an acceptable source for scholarly work. Furthermore, I have to quote it from memory, so don't take this one to the bank, but here it is (attributed):

"The picture that emerges from science is not that of a body with a person inside, but of a body which IS a person, in that it displays a complex repertoire of behavior."

It's a great quote, but for all I know, the author of that small tract may have pulled it out of his hat. Skinner may not have said it at all.

i think that quote was from his other book Beyond Freedom and Dignity, which i intend to read after Walden Two. his ideas fascinate me and really, he's being very straightforward, but there is a lot of truth in what he says.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Are you saying that unbridled capitalism is the problem?

Maybe, depending on the nature of "Unbridled." I just think the corporations are more or less in control of the country due to corporate law (which they also control) and that until the revolt things will only get worse for the general public....Unless the majority or corporations intentionally adopt the strategies outlined in the video.

Full Disclosure: I worked for Whole Foods for a brief period (6 months or so)....

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Maybe, depending on the nature of "Unbridled." I just think the corporations are more or less in control of the country due to corporate law (which they also control) and that until the revolt thing will only get worse for the general public. Unless the majority or corporations intentionally adopt the strategies outlined in the video.

i think a change of scenery would be nice

[WT Sharpe]

My definition of unbridled would be winner-take-all, dog-eat-dog, concern only for the bottom line and don't worry about those who get crushed in the process. Free-markets are good, but only with the proper regulations and humane safeguards in place to protect the weaker members and ensure equal justice for all. In my opinion, unbridled capitalism is the very opposite of that which is advocated in the video.

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

My definition of unbridled would be winner-take-all, dog-eat-dog, concern only for the bottom line and don't worry about those who get crushed in the process. Free-markets are good, but only with the proper regulations and humane safeguards in place to protect the weaker members and ensure equal justice for all. In my opinion, unbridled capitalism is the very opposite of that which is advocated in the video.

BF Skinner would ask: what is freedom?



go and read the book again!

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

There is a great quote from B.F. Skinner....
"The picture that emerges from science is not that of a body with a person inside, but of a body which IS a person, in that it displays a complex repertoire of behavior."

It's a great quote, but for all I know, the author of that small tract may have pulled it out of his hat. Skinner may not have said it at all.

Originally Posted by wyndslash

i think that quote was from his other book Beyond Freedom and Dignity,....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_Freedom_and_Dignity

People are bodies

The picture which emerges from a scientific analysis is not of a body with a person inside, but of a body which is a person in the sense that it displays a complex repertoire of behavior. . . . What is being abolished is autonomous man — the inner man, the homunculus, the possessing demon, the man defended by the literatures of freedom and dignity. His abolition has long been overdue. . . . Science does not dehumanize man, it de-homunculizes him.[22]

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

My definition of unbridled would be winner-take-all, dog-eat-dog, concern only for the bottom line and don't worry about those who get crushed in the process. Free-markets are good, but only with the proper regulations and humane safeguards in place to protect the weaker members and ensure equal justice for all. In my opinion, unbridled capitalism is the very opposite of that which is advocated in the video.

Then we agree.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

BF Skinner would ask: what is freedom?



go and read the book again!

Yes, he would have indeed!