Glossary of Terms |
Corporations:
The law typically views a corporation as a fictional person, a legal person, or a moral person (as opposed to a natural person); United States law recognizes this as corporate personhood. Under such a doctrine (obviously a legal fiction), a corporation enjoys many of the rights and obligations of individual persons, such as the ability to own property, sign binding contracts, pay taxes, have certain constitutional rights, and otherwise participate in society. (Wikipedia.com)
US corporations exist to maximize returns to owners of their stock (shareholders). They are, in fact, required by law to do so. I.e., corporations are legally bound to operate as if only shareholders matter. Not employees, not customers, not communities, not the earth — only shareholders. If a corporation treats employees well, it is only as part of its strategy to maximize returns to its shareholders. But what do shareholders actually contribute to earn such treatment? In most cases, absolutely nothing. Zero. Zilch. Zip. Nada. (source: http://www.pastpeak.com/archives/corporations/)
Profit:
Profitability is the ultimate driver of corporate decisions. Corporations prefer higher profits to lower profits, at least in the long-run. Profitability is not necessarily the same as community well-being, though a profitable company is more likely to, for example, employ more people than an unprofitable company. Conflicts can exist, however, between what's good for a corporation and what's good for the environment, for example, or its employees or even the good of the state. A corporation is a complex organism and there has been much debate about what drives it. There is an argument that the divorce of ownership from decision-taking means that profitability isn't the main drive - senior managers may have other imperatives like keeping their jobs and avoiding being taken-over (which might run counter to the interests of share-holders). Corporations often like to grow, if only because they fear a bigger competitor having cost advantages. This is not always true, however: there have been cases where corporations have been broken up into constituent parts. (Wikipedia.com)
Paul Joseph Goebbels
(October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945) was Adolf Hitler's Propaganda Minister (see Propagandaministerium) in Nazi Germany. Goebbels was known for his zealous and energetic oratory and virulent anti-Semitism. Following Hitler's death he served as Chancellor for one day. Afterwards, he and his wife drugged their children with morphine, and then poisoned them with cyanide. He and his wife then committed suicide. (Wikipedia.com)
Quid pro quo
(Latin for "something for something", many times understood by English speakers as "what for what" or "tit for tat") is used to mean, in the English speaking world, a favour for a favour (Wikipedia.com).
Racketeering
1) the extortion of money or advantage by threat or force. 2) a pattern of illegal activity (as extortion and murder) that is carried out in furtherance of an enterprise (as a criminal syndicate) which is owned or controlled by those engaged in such activity. (From: http://dictionary.reference.com)
Fascism
1) A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism. 2) A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government. (From: http://dictionary.reference.com)