Corporate Ethics and the Profit Margin

[rclark@nyx.cs.du.edu (Robert W. F. Clark)]

rge Gleason) writes:

[My suggestions on ways to make it unprofitable for PKP to
 behave "unethically" deleted.]

>That's like, if you want your kid to behave, beat him any time he
>misbehaves.  Yeah, uh-huh.

Unlike the child, though, a corporation is not human.  In addition,
it is, alas, the manner of American business of late to be 
reactive instead of proactive.  Thus, rather than see the future 
catastrophe which will inevitably result if Clipper/Capstone is
mandated as a standard, PKP will look toward this year's profit
margin.  To get the attention of an American corporation, it
is regrettably necessary to "beat it every time it misbehaves."  

If it behaves, free market forces will take care of the reward.

In the case of PKP and AT & T, though, free market forces have
been subverted because they have been "incentivised" by Uncle
Sam.  ("Incentivised," ecch.  Sounds like a suitably grisly
operation, no?  Ever notice that euphemisms are usually
uglier than what they euphemise?  Even "bribe" would sound
less tawdry and criminal.)

>If we want PKP to behave ethically, we have to show them positive i.e.
>profitmaking incentives for doing so.  For instance commitments to buy their
>products if they do (whatever).  

Unfortunately, it's far easier for a large, diverse group to agree
_not_ to purchase something than get all of them to sign a group
contract to buy a certain company's merchandise.  It works, too.
Check out the Chavez grape boycott, and the alarming success of
the Moron Majority in bullying advertisers and television networks
to cancel "immoral" programming.

Unless there were a "Cypherpunks procurement committee," which purchased
crypto merchandise from "cypherpunk correct" dealers and resold to
cypherpunks, this would be difficult to manage.

It may be a good idea, but I, for one, don't have the capital
to set it up; and it doesn't seem likely to happen in the immediate
future.

Even you, when making concrete suggestions, seem to realize that
punishment and/or negative reinforcement are effective tools,
as in your next message you write:

>Re AT&T being "incentivised;" again, I'd like to suggest it's time to
>dis-incentivise them like right now.  If you're on AT&T long distance,
>change your carrier.  If you're using an AT&T phone system, replace it with
>anything else.  

[Other good suggestions elided.]

This is the "whack 'em when they misbehave" tactic which 
you seemed to oppose in your prior message.  It's really the
main weapon in our arsenal against corporate misbehavior.
----
Robert W. F. Clark         Stop the Clipper Chip!
rclark@nyx.cs.du.edu
clark@metal.psu.edu