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Comment by Someone1234 | Hacker News Reader

This has nothing to do with the post you replied to.

Plus this retort essentially boils down to "Google pays well and other companies are even worse so quit complaining!" Restating the compensation argument multiple different ways, and the cutting edge argument multiple times doesn't really address the actual underlying complaints being made (Google's partnership with distasteful foreign governments and other corporate immoralities).

If you want to talk corporate morals, sure, relevant. If you just want to brag that Google pays super well and is less evil than [more evil companies] this seems like a whole other discussion that sidesteps the issues. Which isn't to say it is untrue, just irrelevant.

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Ok, let's talk about specific issues that cause complaints. Google is a for-profit company, and it answers to shareholders who want to make money. Why would Google not engage in those practices you deem immoral if that's what the shareholders want? I use Google products daily. So for me the question is - does Google need to engage in "partnership with distasteful foreign governments and other corporate immoralities", in order for me to enjoy using its products in the future? Will such activities hurt or help Google in the long run?

I would hope that every single person - including shareholders, managers, and employees - holds our fundamental values like peace, freedom, or justice higher than their desire to maximise profits.

The top question is not: will it hurt the company. The top question is: will it hurt humanity.

We liked Google because their founders did the right thing for a long time, and fended off profit-maximizing shareholders.

Sure we can hope, but in reality if Google is not profitable someone else will take its place. If Google does not cooperate with Chinese government someone else will take its place.

Will humanity benefit if, say, Comcast buys the morally pure but financially struggling Google, or if no one is challenging Baidu in China?

As long as Google cares, it is a net win for humanity. Even the worst-case scenario that Google is later bought by an immoral company is a better outcome for humanity than Google immediately becoming immoral.

I also find your argument about Google becoming unprofitable unconvincing. They were very profitable while they held the standards high in the past. Maybe not maximally profitable, but very profitable.

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