Curious what others think about this but… if we are giving taxpayer grants to Intel in exchange for “national security” which is a fair argument in my view, why not get something in exchange for those grants or just not give the grants at all? I see merit in giving grants, I also see merit in requiring an equity stake as well.
For the communists isn’t this exactly what you want? State ownership of the means of production? Shouldn’t you be cheering Trump on for nationalizing corporations and/or industries or at least heading in that direction? Or is the primary criticism he isn’t nationalizing industries fast enough?
rasz•5mo ago
Depends on how soon will we see Baron or some other dimwit on Intel Board or in executive position.
tietjens•5mo ago
What communists do you think you’re addressing is what I’m wondering.
ericmay•5mo ago
I guess those who want the state to own the means of production. Or is communism something different than that?
deadghost•5mo ago
In a way, the government already has a 10-40% stake in everything through taxation.
Bratmon•5mo ago
I think you're confused on your terms there. The key feature of the communist mode of production is that the profits of the firm go to the workers or the people. Communists aren't particularly concerned about the source of investment.
What we're seeing here is a situation in which favored firms are subsidized by the government in exchange for personal loyalty to the leader, but profits are still privatized. This is called the "fascist mode of production"
ericmay•5mo ago
I don't think that's the key feature of Communism but it sure sounds nice. The way you know that's not the key feature or perhaps philosophical underpinning is because if that were true you could just start your own Communist firm, collective, "facility that generates profits" today under democracy and free markets.
I hear you on the potential for state nationalization of companies to turn into fascism, though. It's often hard to tell the difference between some of these authoritarian regimes (fascism, dictatorship, communism) because they tend to take similar actions from time to time albeit with different goals.
ericmay•5mo ago
For the communists isn’t this exactly what you want? State ownership of the means of production? Shouldn’t you be cheering Trump on for nationalizing corporations and/or industries or at least heading in that direction? Or is the primary criticism he isn’t nationalizing industries fast enough?
rasz•5mo ago
tietjens•5mo ago
ericmay•5mo ago
deadghost•5mo ago
Bratmon•5mo ago
What we're seeing here is a situation in which favored firms are subsidized by the government in exchange for personal loyalty to the leader, but profits are still privatized. This is called the "fascist mode of production"
ericmay•5mo ago
I hear you on the potential for state nationalization of companies to turn into fascism, though. It's often hard to tell the difference between some of these authoritarian regimes (fascism, dictatorship, communism) because they tend to take similar actions from time to time albeit with different goals.