Re: Re: Re: Binary scheme of democracy and centralism

[Eugene Coyle <eugenecoyle@xxxxxxx>]

Well, Ian wants to close the business schools and I want to shut down economics
departments.  What do you all think of Anthropology?

Gene

Ian Murray wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Sabri Oncu" <soncu@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "PEN-L" <pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2002 8:30 PM
> Subject: [PEN-L:25023] Re: Binary scheme of democracy and centralism
>
> > Michael writes:
> >
> > > You are absolutely correct.
> > >
> > > "Devine, James" wrote:
> > >
> > >> My impression is that Williamson studies non-market
> > >> institutions in order to show that corporate hierarchies
> > >> are a good thing.
> >
> > I don't know whether he studies market or non-market institutions
> > but other than that what Jim said was more or less what he told
> > me or what I recall from the things he told me: hierarchical
> > and/or centralized forms of governance for the institutions of
> > capitalism are/can be better than other organizational forms.
> >
> > Moreover, he had no urge to make use of the word "democracy" as
> > he was making his claims. As I heard many times in the business
> > world:
> >
> > "We are a business, we are not a democracy!"
> >
> > Here is another one:
> >
> > "We are not in the business of doing good. We do business and
> > good comes out of it!"
> >
> > More or less, that is, as far as I recall.
> >
> > Sabri
>
> ====================
>
> Would that Williamson and his fellow apologists do some actual economic
> anthropology and sign up for a stint as a mail room clerk or executive assistant,
> a cosmetics salesperson or an air traffic controller or load trucks or be a school
> bus driver to see how accurately their categories, narratives and explanations map
> the actual lobotomizing practices of today's big firms.
>
> Business administration depts. are the breeding grounds for authoritarian,
> autocratic personalities and they ought to be dismantled and rolled into those
> remaining departments  that could teach them something about democracy and
> manners............
>
> Ian