Corporations Are Psychopaths

I had lunch with John again at Bowery Bar. That’s Arnold Palmer, his favorite drink. We saw a bunch of people who were obviously in the city for the gay pride parade this past weekend. John told me that now it’s split into two: one with corporate sponsors and the other without. Corporations are supposed to be targets of rebellions, but in the last few decades, they’ve realized that taking on the rebellious position themselves allows them to avoid being the targets of rebellions, just so long as the rebellions are large enough to maintain or enhance their bottom lines. But, apparently, those who are conscientious enough are now rebelling against the corporate infiltration of their rebellions.

The problem with public corporations getting involved in any type of politics is that their management has a fiduciary duty to prioritize profit over everything else for their shareholders, which means they would be happy to support any cause as long as it has, or projected to have, the majority support. If white supremacy starts spreading rapidly, they would be happy to sponsor that too. Many corporations profited from participating in the Holocaust, but they could not be sent to jail for that. Corporations are legal entities that behave like humans but feel no remorse. That is, they are giant psychopaths. Just because they happen to agree with you, you shouldn’t accept their help, for you wouldn’t be able to complain when they flip sides and pour millions of dollars into your opposition.

But it’s not just corporations that you should look out for. Many people act just like corporations do; they wait to support any cause until they feel safe to do so, because they don’t have any moral convictions of their own either. Joining the chorus of rebellion is not only easy but it’s fun. You can experience a religious euphoria from it. If you want a friend who would stand up for you when the whole world is unjustly against you, look for someone who has dissented from all her friends and families, not some distant enemies she never met, on controversial issues. Someone with a moral conviction doesn’t require a posse to stand up for her belief.