5 ms·

"Capitalism works because the best businesses succeed while the worst fail." So Microsoft, Wal-Mart, McDonald's and Exxon are the best?

fburnaby 17y ago
They're the best at capitalism.
- pbhjpbhj 17y ago
  If they could pay their workers nothing and get new ones when they were too sick to work; if they could do more clear cutting of endangered forest to reduce costs; if they could manipulate the markets more to make the poor give more to the rich ... they'd be even better capitalists ...
  - onreact-com 17y ago
    Yeah, but they do most of that already unless it's illegal and they can't get away with it.
    - fburnaby 17y ago
      That was my snarky point.
TomOfTTB 17y ago
At what the market values I'd say Yes. Microsoft made good enough software that ran on the cheapest hardware available. So people could do everything on a PC that they could do on say...a Mac for a fraction of the cost (sure it was probably harder to do but people obviously valued the money they saved more) Wal-Mart sells products the cheaper than anyone else. 'nuff said. McDonalds may not be the best food but they spend millions per year making sure it's consistent. You can go to a McDonalds in Los Angeles and a McDonalds in London and it's going to essentially be the same food. People value that. Plus it's again cheap and good enough. Exxon has actually made several innovations in customer experience that help push it up over it's rivals. Here in Southern California for example we have SpeedPass which is an RFID device on your key chain that allows you to purchase gas quicker and without pulling out your wallet. So the point is all those companies delivered what the market wanted.
- pbhjpbhj 17y ago
  Sadly, as with kids and sweets, IMO the market doesn't demand what is best for it (and everyone else). Otherwise Wal-Mart products would be as cheap as they could be whilst still being made to last and be repaired and low impact, low energy, etc. - all products would be traded in a way that workers were not paid immorally low wages. McDonalds would sell food that is good enough to keep you healthy rather than being carefully chemically balanced to be good enough to bring you back next time (high sugar, high salt, high fat, strong marketing). Exxon would be investing not only in ways to let you give them money more quickly but hugely into increasing fuel efficiency and alternative transport systems that would use renewable resources.

fburnaby 17y ago

They're the best at capitalism.

pbhjpbhj 17y ago
If they could pay their workers nothing and get new ones when they were too sick to work; if they could do more clear cutting of endangered forest to reduce costs; if they could manipulate the markets more to make the poor give more to the rich ... they'd be even better capitalists ...
- onreact-com 17y ago
  Yeah, but they do most of that already unless it's illegal and they can't get away with it.
  - fburnaby 17y ago
    That was my snarky point.

TomOfTTB 17y ago

At what the market values I'd say Yes. Microsoft made good enough software that ran on the cheapest hardware available. So people could do everything on a PC that they could do on say...a Mac for a fraction of the cost (sure it was probably harder to do but people obviously valued the money they saved more) Wal-Mart sells products the cheaper than anyone else. 'nuff said. McDonalds may not be the best food but they spend millions per year making sure it's consistent. You can go to a McDonalds in Los Angeles and a McDonalds in London and it's going to essentially be the same food. People value that. Plus it's again cheap and good enough. Exxon has actually made several innovations in customer experience that help push it up over it's rivals. Here in Southern California for example we have SpeedPass which is an RFID device on your key chain that allows you to purchase gas quicker and without pulling out your wallet. So the point is all those companies delivered what the market wanted.

pbhjpbhj 17y ago
Sadly, as with kids and sweets, IMO the market doesn't demand what is best for it (and everyone else). Otherwise Wal-Mart products would be as cheap as they could be whilst still being made to last and be repaired and low impact, low energy, etc. - all products would be traded in a way that workers were not paid immorally low wages. McDonalds would sell food that is good enough to keep you healthy rather than being carefully chemically balanced to be good enough to bring you back next time (high sugar, high salt, high fat, strong marketing). Exxon would be investing not only in ways to let you give them money more quickly but hugely into increasing fuel efficiency and alternative transport systems that would use renewable resources.