Rise Of The.....MEGA Corporations

The unethical, profit-hungry megacorporation is a pretty standard movie villain in Hollywood; they sacrifice morality for money, giving the hero something to fight against while also demonstrating the evils of capitalism in perhaps the most ham-handed way possible.

From Weyland Corp in the 'Alien' franchise, the Tyrell Corporation of the Blade Runner movie world to OCP in Robocop, corporations are rarely seen in a good light in science fiction.



So often, science fiction in Hollywood becomes the reality. I came across this Guardian article about the SERCO Corporation. the rise of global mega corporations taking over the world is no longer movie fiction, it is happening right now-

SERCO- The Company That is Running Britain

From prisons to rail franchises and even London's Boris bikes, Serco is a giant global corporation that has hoovered up outsourced government contracts. Now the NHS is firmly in its sights. But it stands accused of mismanagement, lying and even charging for non-existent work

Politicians are paid off, receive handsome campaign contributions, and more and more contracts are awarded to corporations. They want to run the police and prisons, both for profit, we are sleep walking into a social nightmare-

The firm that links these three stories together is Serco. Its range of activities, here and abroad, is truly mind-boggling, taking in no end of things that were once done by the state, but are now outsourced to private companies. Amazingly, its contracts with government are subject to what's known as "commercial confidentiality" and as a private firm it's not open to Freedom of Information requests, so looking into the details of what it does is fraught with difficulty.

Serco runs school inspections in parts of England, speed cameras all over the UK, and the National Nuclear Laboratory, based at the Sellafield site in Cumbria. It also holds the contracts for the management of the UK's ballistic missile early warning system on the Yorkshire moors, the running of the Manchester Aquatics Centre, and London's "Boris bikes".

As evidenced by the story of how it handled out-of-hours care in Cornwall, it is also an increasingly big player in a health service that is being privatised at speed, in the face of surprisingly little public opposition:

But even this is only a fraction of the story. Among their scores of roles across the planet, Serco is responsible for air traffic control in the United Arab Emirates, parking-meter services in Chicago, driving tests in Ontario, and an immigration detention centre on Christmas Island, run on behalf of those well-known friends of overseas visitors the Australian government.

In the US, the company has just been awarded a controversial $1.25bn contract by that country's Department of Health. All told, its operations suggest some real-life version of the fantastical mega-corporations that have long been invented by fiction writers; a more benign version of the Tyrell Corporation from Blade Runner, say, or one of those creations from James Bond movies whose name always seems to end with the word "industries".

The scariest part is that this is all happening without the majority of people even realising it is taking place. As the Guardian says, it is the 'biggest company no one has ever heard of...'

I'll say it again, we are literally sleep walking into a dystopian nightmare.

I like the corporate avatar, the v on the forehead, the owl, the T for Ta. Impressive marketing, using the signs of primordial understanding to get control. The W is also a very good choice for a marketing promotion. That also is a primordial understanding sign.

Yes it's scary, its like G4S also in the UK taking over the roles of the police. They have become omni present in the UK. See, some will argue the state was too big so we have to use these companies, but its not in the nature of a market economy its based on granting monopolies to these corporations. I imagine most of them are big donors to the Conservative party.

They all have their headquarters in tax havens, so don't even contribute to the society they seek to use and employ. It's a case of taking all the good things like profits, while leaving the losses and retirement packages in the hands of the public.

Originally posted by Wonderer2012








I'll say it again, we are literally sleep walking into a dystopian nightmare.

and not just in the UK....

The Right wing, conservative, control freaks wet dream. All the while parroting the "freedom, less government, back to the Constitution" mantra; then handing the control to the corporations.

The Democratic Republic has been replaced by the Corporate Oligarchy.

Dystopian Nightmare is an appropriate description. I'm so glad I don't have any kids to experience this BS.

Corporate logos are sigils.

The McDonalds M is a prime example.

I used to think that machines would eventually destroy the human race. BTW watch how fast racism becomes obsolete in that scenario LOL.

Now I'm certain corporations ARE the machines. It's staring us in the face. Who do you really think was so damn interested in fighting Marxism? You think the American Fascists are interested in personal liberty? It's like a religion. A convenient myth.

Humans are actually most useful as batteries to convert food and water into labor.

The Humans think they are custodians of these corps but I believe they have miscalculated. They are very dispensable and could very easily be replaced by AI or other similar computer applications.

Originally posted by MystikMushroom
Corporate logos are sigils.

The McDonalds M is a prime example.

Quite true.



Branding is one of the most important aspect of marketing. That why we see individual companies with their own unique logo's and missions, even though they are all owned by a single umbrella corporation.

reply to post by MDDoxs


Yep, these sigil-logos are actually hacking the operating system of reality, usually in an effort to be profitable and successful.

The problem with them is that they work literally. If you make one with the intent, "XXXXX shall fall" (as in fall from power) -- they will most likely have a nasty literal fall down some stairs or something.

reply to post by olaru12


It's not so much the 'Right Wing'. The 'Left Wing' ideals are used more often.

The large international corporations and many 'cooperating' governments have taken a few pointers from Marxism.

Grampa Karl outlined the whole thing in what seemed to be simple enough terms.

Some people use the 'ideal' systems selectively to achieve a corporatist agenda, and 'governments' use many Marxist tactics to control the populations in favor of the underlying corporations.

As the small businesses keep going out and swallowed up the big corporations, we see the corporatism gain more and more steam. Perhaps unstoppable.

Since the big international corporations that control many businesses and governments today are the most powerful organizations in history, maybe they did take it from Marx ?

Maybe they used international banking and mixed it right with government control to gain their own 'utopia'.

Some people think Marx was a hired gun for the bankers of those old times in the mid 19th Century.

The modern corporatist model started to appear around the same time as Marx.

Some even think Marx was a Rothschild family relative.

They have successfully developed the Marxist-Corporatist Agenda of world domination.

We just haven't come to terms and acceptance of the fact that these mega corporations are calling all the shots. In time, when they realize that this or that works to their benefit....we will see changes.

I believe the word is fascism....but hey...i am just an educated idiot....what do I know.

The mega corporations back certain representaives and candidates....and 'we the people" get to choose from the candidates that they have decided on....broken system.

Oh well....our founding fathers knew this day would come. They warned and even gave means to "undo" it...but we are weak, stupid and poorly prepared....welcome to the end.....

reply to post by xuenchen


How you can compare Marx who was a Socialist with Capitalism/corporate fascism run amok is beyond ludicrous.


www.econlib.org...

:www.brill.com...

Originally posted by olaru12
reply to post by xuenchen

 

How you can compare Marx who was a Socialist with Capitalism/corporate fascism run amok is beyond ludicrous.


www.econlib.org...

I think my sig applies here

yes your sig may very well 'apply'... don't become your own victim.

but you really should do some research.

google " karl marx corporatism " and read between the lines.

here's a start ...

The once-liberal but now statist collectivist left in America apparently wants the coercive form of capitalism, renamed "democratic socialism" or some-such. They think they can get "social justice" by destroying the free choice part and keeping the coercive big government and big union parts.

This will work just fine for them only if they can maneuver themselves into position where they control the coercion.

But this will still result in exploitation of "the workers." It will just be "their" exploitation rather than "capitalism's" exploitation.

That's because no society can achieve any kind of justice based on the concept that some people have a "right" to coerce disfavored people for the benefit of favored people.
The two capitalisms: Free market vs. corporatism

this is only introductory, further study requires a long attention span.

then look at the 10 planks and see how many apply already.

Originally posted by xuenchen






google " karl marx corporatism " and read between the lines.

Thanks for the tip, but no where "even between the lines" did I read where the fascists Capitalist corporate model subscribes to Marxism. Please provide a link..... I did however find this that might apply.

www.politicsforum.org...

but even this supports my position that MEGA corps are fascist, conservatives run wild seeking total control of those that actually do the work. How you can construe this as leftist is beyond belief.

Please show me a viable connection between corporatism and Marxist socialism.

Shadowrun becomes reality.
The rpg'er in me weeps with pride.

reply to post by xuenchen


Wow that was just ridiculous. The corporations have spent trillions over the decades to mark Marxism as the great inefficient evil of the world.

Why does the right not recognize what fascism is? Do crazy people ever know they are crazy? As fascist never know they are fascists.

reply to post by olaru12


Some good examples are found in how the old USSR handled trade and corporations.

Again, it's complicated.

But the Soviet style used many Marxist tactics (internally) as well as some international corporation structures.

The 1920's were the beginning of the 'mergings'.


Soviet Union Information Bureau FOREIGN TRADE


AMERICAN-SOVIET TRADE

SOVIET foreign trade is a state monopoly. The Government through the Commissariat for Trade regulates export and import operations which are permitted only with special licenses issued by the Commissariat.

The Commissariat, however, does not actually carry on the foreign trade operations itself. Exports and imports are handled in the U.S.S.R. by state trading companies, cooperative societies, industrial organizations and finally concession and mixed (Soviet and foreign capital) enterprises.

Trade between the Soviet Union and the United States is handled in the main by four New York corporations, representing Soviet industrial and trading organizations. These firms are:

Amtorg Trading Corporation, 165 Broadway, New York, representatives in the United States of the principal trusts, syndicates, trading agencies and other economic organizations of the U.S.S.R., with the exception of the All-Russian Textile Syndicate and co-operative organizations. During 1927-28 the Amtorg made purchases in the United States of industrial equipment, agricultural machinery, non-ferrous metals, etc., for shipment to the Soviet Union, to the value of $33,100,000 and sold Soviet products worth over $12,000,000. The firm's purchases for the year showed an increase of 27 per cent.

All-Russian Textile Syndicate, 39 Broadway, New York, representatives of the Soviet AllUnion Textile Syndicate, purchase American cotton for shipment to the Soviet Union. Orders placed in the United States by this firm during 1927-28 amounted to $54,300,000, an increase of 23 per cent over the previous year.

Centrosoyus-America, 17 Battery Place, New York, representatives of the Union of Consumers' Cooperatives of the U.S.S.R. During 1927-28 the turnover of this firm was $,8oo,000, of which $3,300,000 represented sales of Soviet products.

Seiskosojus-America, 90 West St., New York, representatives of agricultural producers' co-operatives of the U.S.S.R. During 1927-28 the firm placed orders in the United States amounting to $5,400,000.

Several American firms deal directly with the Soviet Union by virtue of special agreements with the Soviet government. Among such firms are:

Eitingon-Schild Co.
Standard Oil Co. of New York
Lena Goldfields Co.
Allied American Corporation
Russian-American Compressed Gas Co.

reply to post by olaru12


Marxism, Communism, Fascism, Corporatism, etc etc are all in the same toolbox.

They just use what ever wrench fits the bolt.

The 'idealisms' are only textbook examples and rarely make it out of the books and into the wild, and always wilt away like flowers without water.

Whether 'managers' work for a corporation or a government, they use the same tools.

here's some more 'theories'......

INTERNATIONAL CORPORATISM

COMMON DENOMINATOR

The motivating force behind managers as a group, their allegiance to the body corporate 'and the management psyche has been thoroughly investigated by W. H. Whyte in his "The Organization Man". Nor -are his findings necessarily restricted to managers on the North American continent. The same conclusions may be applied equally as well to those managers operating in a Socialist-style economy. What may not be so obvious, but which nonetheless may be taken for granted, is that the same style of managers-and -I mean this in the corporate sense-must be a fact of life in the Communist world.

One need only refer to the writings of Victor Zorza, for instance, to indicate a noted Soviet observer's acceptance that 'military-economic' managers are, in the USSR a fact of life. Commenting recently on the Supreme Soviet session, required to pass the latest five-year plan, he ascribed responsibility to the economic managers for delaying acceptance of the current five-year plan by the Supreme Soviet. Also, writing of a former party secretary and a leader of the military-economic manager faction of the party, he said, "Shelepin did not speak at the congress, but took advantage of the first major speech he made after it to emphasize the importance of major industry."

Modern examples exist in Communist China today.

Originally posted by olaru12
The Right wing, conservative, control freaks wet dream. All the while parroting the "freedom, less government, back to the Constitution" mantra; then handing the control to the corporations.

The Democratic Republic has been replaced by the Corporate Oligarchy.

Dystopian Nightmare is an appropriate description. I'm so glad I don't have any kids to experience this BS.

edit on 2-8-2013 by olaru12 because: (no reason given)

We have separation of State and Religion to protect us from those that would go into office and impose their own religious views on everyone else.

We need separation of State, Big Banks and Multi National Corporations, because they are also going into office to kill the small business and entrepreneurs in order to impose their Globalist Corporate and Banking Model on this country and the whole world.

I have no doubt that the Police State we find ourselves in and the loss of our freedoms is all to give more control, power and wealth to these $$$Globalist Fascists$$$

And we shall be forced to dance in commercials, and sing, SING For our Pepsi.