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Comment by playing_colours | Hacker News Reader

The problem with private for-profit companies is that they fundamentally cannot play a role of moral or political beacons, by the purpose and mechanisms that ensure their existence and success.

We have a lot of examples in history when the institutions that are designed to be moral guides bend their principles to the ruling ideology: Catholic Church in Nazi Germany, Orthodox Church in Soviet & Putin Russia.

I think large companies tend to eagerly adopt any moral principles that bring them more customer, attracts more employees, helps to get government contracts, and avoid lawsuits.

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Not sure what are you referring by "Orthodox Church in Soviet (Russia)". The state's stance towards it was a mish-mash of violent and liberal times. But church and, more importantly, practicing religion was oppressed at almost all times. I'm from another, smaller, communist country and the attitude towards religion changed hyper-locally. My mom and dad are from different parts of the country, yet almost neighbouring, but my mom's family could practice religion freely, while my dad's were being jailed for it.

While your premise sounds sound, not all of your examples do. As an example, you might be positively surprised about the role of some of the catholic clergy in Nazi Germany and outside of it. Which was something completely different from the catholic hierarchy at the papal level, but I digress...

It gets worse. The vaccine mandates really put a spotlight on this. The politicians know a law mandating a vaccine is a non-starter so they delegate to private industry and encourage corporate policy like either get a shot or be fired, your “choice”. Very clever in an evil sort of way.

> The politicians know a law mandating a vaccine is a non-starter

A vaccine mandate is a non-starter only in the current poisonous US political environment. There is historical precedent for vaccine mandates in the US: polio. What else are reasonably careful policy makers to do if a very vocal minority has the ability to block any progress?

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