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callcyesterday at 11:42 PM2 repliesview on HN

The problem is equating profitability with what societies want and don’t want.

Morality exists outside of the business world (and it should inside as well).

Further, it is a societies’ right to enforce the boundaries of what business are allow to do / not do.

For example: banning ads along roads and scenic areas.

Idk, the whole idea of “how much fines will I get doing X shitty business practice” is just gross. I’d rather see harsher enforcement to keep businesses on the straight and narrow more often than not.


Replies

Ajedi32today at 3:01 AM

Perhaps, but when you're operating at any significant scale accidents become a statistical certainty. 0 screw ups, ever is not a realistically achievable goal. And if some limited number of screw ups is allowable, that necessarily becomes an insurable cost that amounts to "just the cost of doing business", so I don't really see the complaint.

Concrete example: If you run a construction business, even if you take all the required precautions, statistically you're going to get 9.2 of your employees killed for every 100,000 man-hours they work.[1] Is that proof all construction companies are evil, and we should shut them down for murdering their employees? Is it a problem that having to buy life insurance is "just a cost of doing business" for these companies?

[1]: https://www.bls.gov/charts/census-of-fatal-occupational-inju...

nathan_comptonyesterday at 11:50 PM

Pretty sure this isn't what they are teaching at the best business schools.