Perceptive article by Nick Cohen in today's Observer warning about the implications of big business (in this case Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook) getting involved in politics.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/31/beware-zuckerberg-cool-capitalism
Since Harold Wilson made his "white heat of technological progress" speech in 1963 United Kingdom governments have faced the quandary: how to ensure that the ordinary people are not dispossessed due to changes (technological, social, even windfall in the shape of oil) that they have no direct control over.
Socialists would argue that the way to do this is to tax big corporations and distribute the taxation revenues to the people. I have a lot of sympathy with this argument in theory and I think ultimately it is the only practical way to ensure equity. But this is a long-term aim (thirty years plus) - in the short term the socialists cannot be trusted with finances (they either bungle things; or they corruptly channel money in the direction of their supporters; or they blow it all on invading overseas countries etc).
Conservatives argue that ensuring the widest possible ownership of shares in big corporations will ensure that dividends (and ultimate control of corporations) are shared out democratically. In the short to medium term there is no practical alternative to this (which is why I am a Conservative). But it is messy, and disadvantaged people do not tend to own shares, and systems of corporate governance are appalling.
What we cannot, must not, allow is the kind of scenario that Mark Zuckerberg is advocating ("trust me, I am the cool Mark Zuckerberg, I will make wise decisions on your behalf").
That way leads to a syndicalist state, and no-one wants that.
No comments:
Post a Comment