If a corporation is a person, then it exhibits attributes of a psychopath:

[DetlefK]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_Psychopathy_Checklist

Superficial charm?
Check. It's a known fact that the stock-value is strongly influenced by the image of a company.

Grandiose sense of self-worth?
Check. It's also known as furthering a brand.

Pathological lying?
Check. Ever seen a commercial?

Conning/manipulative?
Check. They employ lobbyists.

Shallow affect (genuine emotion is short-lived and egocentric)?
Check. "We are sorry for the inconvenience. Please don't sue us."

Callousness; lack of empathy?
Check. Does a company have a moral codex?

Parasitic lifestyle?
Check. Some companies intentionally treat their customers bad.

Acquired behavioral sociopathy/sociological conditioning?
Check. Companies employ social/psychological knowledge to manipulate the way they are perceived in public.




Trust them to make the right decisions for you. What could go wrong?

[siligut]

1. Psychopath is the new business survival mode

They only have to fool you long enough to get your money.

[Jackpine Radical]

2. I've been arguing exactly that for years.

[truebluegreen]

3. Not a surprise.

And probably why CEOs are so highly paid. There's probably only a small group of psychopaths with the requisite business skills and social contacts to run big companies.

IOW, our unregulated capitalist system allows scum like that to rise to the top.

[DetlefK]

4. I wasn't talking about CEOs.

If a company were a human, then the CEO would be no more than a brain-cell.

I'm talking about the whole entity, including bones (assets), muscles (work-force), intestines (administration, IT...) and skin (PR).

[truebluegreen]

6. I know and I agree, the whole entity is psychopathic.

But I think many CEOs have to be as well.

[lame54]

5. The 2003 documantary The Corporation makes that same argument...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Corporation

[redqueen]

8. Yep.

[unapatriciated]

9. Very informative documentary

It's a shame we ignored the warnings over the last ten years.

[MyshkinCommaPrince]

7. Ah, those are all externalities.

Competition! Freeeedom! Invisible hand! Wahoo! There's no such thing as society!

Now excuse me while I go eat some kittens.

[DetlefK]

10. I can haz purr-burger?