Good and Bad, in Politics and Business
There is a lot of information coming our way, nonstop, and we have a tendency to get intimidated and persuaded quite easily by over-intellectualized arguments and authority figures. In such a world it is hard to keep a clear heart and mind about what is good and what is bad, especially in areas such as politics and business.
I came across an interesting tweet which is an accurate and good summary of some of my current beliefs about business and politics. Below, the tweet, followed by some of my comments.
Free speech: being able to express opinions is good. It is very bad when people are not allowed to express their opinions or ideas, or are punished when doing so.
Starting companies and making good products: I want to put the emphasis on good products. Most companies don’t aim for good products. A lot of them make neither good nor bad products. A few of them make bad or harmful products. In a market that works, bad products shouldn’t survive for a long time but even in the short term they can cause a lot of harm. So don’t make bad products and try not to make in between good and bad products either. Instead, aim for making things that good people want, which is a good approach for creating companies with good products.
Monopolies: being a big company with no competition in a market, and doing good, is incompatible, because the big company automatically becomes a bully to some people. That’s because these people’s needs will be overlooked, won’t be met or will be oppressed. Instead, many companies doing many things is compatible with doing good, because they are able to serve the many different needs and wants of people.
The same goes for vendor lock-in: people should be able to leave or stop using a product if their needs or wants change. If they get stuck with a product for whatever reason, it is bad. A company shouldn’t design a product so that users aren’t able to leave. A company should serve the people who want the product and not push it or force it like a bully on everyone else.
Democracy good: I think the subtweet that follows says it all.
Greed is bad: wanting more and more of something for oneself, while other people could use some of it, is bad. Sharing, no matter what, is good.
Finally, caring about other people no matter where they are in the world, is good. Other people should matter to you. The other extreme is to only care about oneself, which is bad.