User blog comment:GrandMethuselah67/Character Sheet: Malcolm River/@comment-4867780-20161014010956/@comment-4867780-20161017014139

"How is a corporation going to become so impossibly and monolithically powerful if its power depends completely on the choice of consumers, who can simply...well, not buy from them"

Herding instinct, my friend. The one thing in human nature you can definitely count on ^ ^; The masses are simply nowhere as strong-willed and free-minded as you are, so the compeling gravity of numbers often ends up deciding for them.

"...so ethical egoism is a philosophy that puts cool principles above people's health/life ?"

"In other words, in ethical egoism, nobody is responsible for your health/life or well-being except for yourself."

So, that's a "yes" then ? Ideas over results, life/health included ?

"Woah-woah-woah, there. Slow down. I have said repeatedly that ethical egoism is all about freedom of choice. You've even quoted me saying it. That means that the "dumb and lazy masses" can choose whether or not to buy from the "sociopathic corporations". And the corporations in question will be penalized by the free market for their business malpractice."

Another "yes" here it seems. Really a double-edged system.

"And that's what the free market is about. What ethical egoism is about. It's about being responsible for yourself, being reliant on yourself, and being successful by your own agency."

Works for the few innovating minds like Andrew Carnegie at least, not so sure about the countless average joes struggling below. A highly elitist system in the end with just a different selection process, with great rewards for the alphas and cold indifference for the masses.

"You said earlier that corporations can become more powerful than governments? That's incorrect. That is because the government is a class of individuals whom exist solely to have power. There are documents, constitutions, or if you live in a theocratic country, divine rights that give governments power over people. Corporations have no such thing."

No, they just have a bazillion dollars, highly profitable businesses everywhere, a mind-shapping level of socio-mediatic influence, and none of the geographic limitations, political responsonsibilities and strings attached governements have. So quite enough to turn them green with envy.

"Think about it. What power does money have? None, except the power that the government gives it."

A world ruled by markets... where money has no power ? You've got to be kidding me ^ ^;

"You have no choice but to pay the government, get government-provided services from the government, etc. In other words, interactions with governmental services are not voluntary, but coerced. Granted, we'd be worse off without them, but there's the facts."

...so you acknowledge we'd be worse off without governments... and you still want them off the board ?

I guess it boils down to Ideal vs Reason. Agree to disagree, then. Differences aside, it was certainly a very interesting discussion :)