OUR FATHERS toiled for bitter bread
While idlers thrived beside them;
But food to eat and clothes to wear
Their native land denied them.
They left their native land in spite
Of royalties’ regalia,
And so they came, or if they stole
Were sent out to Australia.
They struggled hard to make a home,
Hard grubbing ’twas and clearing.
They weren’t troubled much with toffs
When they were pioneering;
And now that we have made the land
A garden full of promise,
Old greed must crook his dirty hand
And come to take it from us.

But Freedom’s on the Wallaby,
She’ll knock the tyrants silly,
She’s going to light another fire
And boil another billy.
We’ll make the tyrants feel the sting
Of those that they would throttle;
They needn’t say the fault is ours
If blood should stain the wattle.

--"Freedom on the Wallaby" Henry Lawson (1891)

See also http://home.alphalink.com.au/~eureka/henry.htm

Been there done that. Australia learned over 100 years ago about the evils of corporatisation and the inherent dangers that it brings http://www.anu.edu.au/polsci/marx/interventions/nineties.htm

I understand about 5-10% of people are socio/pyscopaths in that they have no regard for other peoples feelings. Some see this as a positive trait for management.

There is nothing that is unexpected involved here. History shows surges of deregulation followed by periods of re-regulation.

Entrepreneurs (and artists & rebels & deviants) are invested with an urgency to seize the day. They consider regulations to be counter-productive and wasteful of their limited energies. They are our agents of change and improvements and we should never undervalue their positive role in a good, resilient community. But they are an ever present potential threat to the sustainability of our communities, too.

Corporations will always strive to force deregulation, and if that also means disempowering government and democracy then we should not blame them. We should rebuke ourselves for allowing it.

Businesses, including multi-nationals, are power-houses. They truly are the potential horse-power for any change, good or bad.

If we regulate them properly, they have the potential to provide us with everything that we could desire, so long as we also give them potential to realise enough of their desires.

If we give them too much rope, more fool us. The irony is that too much rope is never (never!) in the best interests of the entrepreneurs. Collapses of civilisations include ruin for the businesses that were, or should have been, integral to the civilisations.

A resilient society can be judged to display a measured, workable mix of regulation and freedoms.

The past 3 decades has seen a frenzied deregulation of businesses. The unhappy outcomes of this include inequity, a degrading of democracy and an increase in social dysfunction. Our forum correspondents have listed the symptoms including a new working poor.

Happily, it can all be redressed by a rethink of how we want our big banks, big businesses, big churches to serve the community. Believe it or not, they will comply and make the most of whatever business environment they find themselves in, even a significantly more regulated one.

Most people don't know that the Boston Tea Party that resulted in the American War of Independence was due to the East India Company attempting a Corporate takeover of the colony (at the behest of the British monarch).

The British government/business partnership later went on to India to help establish colonial rule there instead.

The Government/Business partnership concept raised its head again in the 20th Century, revived by Franco, Hitler, and Mussolini.

The Italian dictator even used the word "Corporatism" to describe it, and then later renamed it as "Fascism" - a word that was defined in American dictionaries such as The American Heritage Dictionary in 1983 as "fas-cism (fash'iz'em) n.

"A system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism."

What most people believe to be Democracy these days is actually a Duopoly or Oligarcy.

Spot on Scout (and Wobbles , Narcissist, ChrisW, Rache).

With big business merging left, right and centre it is becoming increasingly difficult to boycott certain corporations, not to mention the potentially devastating effects it has on consumers.

Not many people know about this (they attempted to do it quietly) but one of the first things the Howard government tried to do with it’s control of the senate was to alter the Trade Practices Act was so that the ACCC couldn’t intervene with the merging of big business. Luckily though, the only coalition member with some sense of remorse, Barnaby Joyce, blocked it. And then Howard has the gall to pretend he’s a friend of the working-class…pffft!

This is yet another reason to believe that the coalition doesn’t care in the slightest about anyone or anything but big business like Howard has fooled so many into believing. He’s certainly the most cunning PM we’ve ever had with his ability to manipulate public opinion to the point where the working-class are in a mindset of thinking that the only political issue that exists is interest rates.

Speaking of psychotic behaviour and corporations, it reminds me of the checklist of behaviours expressed by psychopaths that also fits corporations (and quite often the fat-cats of corporations too). Interesting because, according to US law, a corporation is actually considered a person! Some of these behaviours include:

- The inability to feel remorse and a pronounced indifference to the suffering of others;
- A grossly inflated view of oneself;
- Pathological lying;
- A pattern of deceitful behaviour. Etc…

But while I’m at it, I had forgotten one of the biggest corporate criminals in history…

IBM
- Built machines for Nazi Germany which greatly assisted with the slaughtering of different demographics.

IBM knew full-well what they were being used for as they were punch-card machines that helped the Nazi’s efficiently process the different categories of people being killed. Jews, Homosexuals, Gypsies, etc… It’s been estimated that Hitler was able to kill up to 3 times more people than he normally would’ve been able to without them.

Mr Man “Don't_mistake_me_for_some_whining_fool_who_has_no_idea_about_business_practices. I've_studied_enough_project_and_quality_management_as_a_part_of_my_Uni_degree_to_spot_imcompetence_and_nepotism_when_I_see_it.”

Really,

If you knew anything about corporations you would realise the “operational management” is a separate role to “project management”. I work in one role as a consultant, exclusively in project management, I know one of the critical elements of project management is to portray a professional manner and communications competence. Poor spelling (as you have demonstrated) is a portent of non-communication, lack of professionalism and no indication of any competence.

Wobbles “Corporations are all too willing to get their hands on public assets.”

It is very difficult (one might even suggest impossible) for any one individual to pay the amount needed to acquire the entire ownership of a public asset but even if they did, if it were me, to maintain some separation of liability, I would use an incorporated entity, rather than buy and run the “public asset” as a “sole trader”.

So who on earth would be in a position to buy a public asset other than a “corporation”?

Trade215 – well stated

Scout – small business, there is nothing stopping anyone from incorporating a small business.

Of course I could suggest how you might get into a “small business” – give you a large one to run, then come visit a year later.

ChrisW nice post. Agree the powerhouse of a nation is its commerce, the process of producing wealth (which as some here would try to deny, really requires management, innovation and risk, all of which, rightly, expect reward), You are most likely right, re cycles and pendulums. concerning de-regulation versus regulation. The main thing to remember is to read which way it is going and organise accordingly.

Mr Man, A “corporation” is also considered a “legal entity” (person) under Australian law, British law and the law of every other nation which matters. My own corporate entities are legally separate to me (I am not a sole trader). They have their own tax returns, their own legal obligations to report to ASIC etc

I've noticed Col, throughout your posts, that you have a tendency to confuse there with their. It happens too often to be a mere typo. Not that I'm claiming to be a perfect speller - no-one's perfect of course. Except that you seem to think you are, and that this entitles you to belittle those who you think are not.

Just thought you might like to know.