Steve C. Posted November 28, 2015 Posted November 28, 2015 Hello everyone, my current employer is a class 1 railroad that receives some government subsidies in the united states. They have been laying off heavily the past several months or so and I was looking at other railroads to work for, specifically in the passenger rail industry(metro north, Amtrak), which I'm pretty sure is considered a public corporation that is even more heavily subsidized than my current employer. I have two question: 1. As an anarcho capitalist, is it moral to work for my current employer which receives some stolen money? 2. Is it immoral to work for a public corporation that is hemorrhaging money like Amtrak? I apologize if this has been discussed already but I did do a search and couldn't find anything related after a quick glance. I appreciate any input you guys can give me.
Will Torbald Posted November 29, 2015 Posted November 29, 2015 What would you do if the answers were yes on immorality? What would you do if it were moral instead?
dsayers Posted November 29, 2015 Posted November 29, 2015 There's a couple thoughts that come to my mind. The first being that there are probably TONS of jobs out there that could be traced back to involvement by the State in one form or another. If you have to commute to work, you're using government roads for example. So I personally would think of it in terms of "Would this position/product/service be present in a free society?" While we have no way of answering that with certainty, I think it's reasonable to assume (given the infrastructure is already there) that we would continue to have railroads in a free society. So unless you were working in an actual government office or like as a surveyor contracted by a government agency, I personally wouldn't worry about working for a company that takes government money at the top level. That's my thought process. I'd be interested to hear what others have to say. 2
Magenta Posted November 29, 2015 Posted November 29, 2015 Are you contributing to the theft? No, you're just benefitting from it. The job will exist independent of you holding it and I'd rather you benefit from my stolen money than someone less freedom minded. If the government didn't exist, would your job still be there? Yes, we would still have railroads and you would still have that job. Unfortunately, the government has regulated and taken over a lot of the railroad market, but that doesn't mean railroads shouldn't exist. On a separate note, do highly subsidized markets make for healthy working environments for you? If you're surrounded by big government people all day, that can drain your happiness and drain your energy to spread freedom and philosophy. Also, if the company has lots of government workers or bad workers who are only there because they're subsidized, then that can drain you as well. I don't know if your company is like this, I'm just listing possibilities. 1
Steve C. Posted November 29, 2015 Author Posted November 29, 2015 Are you contributing to the theft? No, you're just benefitting from it. The job will exist independent of you holding it and I'd rather you benefit from my stolen money than someone less freedom minded. If the government didn't exist, would your job still be there? Yes, we would still have railroads and you would still have that job. Unfortunately, the government has regulated and taken over a lot of the railroad market, but that doesn't mean railroads shouldn't exist. On a separate note, do highly subsidized markets make for healthy working environments for you? If you're surrounded by big government people all day, that can drain your happiness and drain your energy to spread freedom and philosophy. Also, if the company has lots of government workers or bad workers who are only there because they're subsidized, then that can drain you as well. I don't know if your company is like this, I'm just listing possibilities. Thanks for the input do highly subsidized markets make for healthy working environments for you? If you're surrounded by big government people all day, that can drain your happiness and drain your energy to spread freedom and philosophy. For the most part these are just normal people, many of my co workers are vets or people who believe they are for less government. I don't believe it would be much better or worse if I were to work elsewhere.
Martin E Posted December 7, 2015 Posted December 7, 2015 If you are a an extraordinary worker that would add a lot of value to any company, whatever sector you work in you will expand a little; helping those companies grow and compete. Also you might not be the best suited colleges if you want to discuss and expand your ideas.
shirgall Posted December 8, 2015 Posted December 8, 2015 Consider this article when identifying red flags... http://www.bustle.com/articles/126915-these-professions-are-most-likely-to-have-sex-at-holiday-work-parties "These Professions are Most Likely to Have Sex at Holiday Work Parties"
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