What if there was a library which held every book? Not every book on sale, or every important book, or even every book in English, but simply every book - a key part of our planet's cultural legacy.
Aaron SwartzRead
Large corporations, of course, are blinded by greed. The laws under which they operate require it - their shareholders would revolt at anything less.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights how corporate greed is often prioritized over ethical considerations due to shareholder expectations.
Aaron Swartz's quote criticizes the inherent greed that large corporations embody, suggesting that their operational frameworks are designed to maximize profit at the expense of ethical behavior. He underscores the notion that shareholders demand such greed, implying a systemic issue within corporate governance that prioritizes financial gain over moral responsibilities.
Themes
CorporationsGreedShareholdersProfitEthics
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about corporate ethics, this quote can illustrate the conflict between shareholder demands and ethical responsibilities.
More from Aaron Swartz
All quotes →Without the ability to talk about government power, there's no way for citizens to make sure this power isn't being misused.
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We need to download scientific journals and upload them to file-sharing networks.
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Think deeply about things. Don’t just go along because that’s the way things are or that’s what your friends say. Consider the effects, consider the alternatives, but most importantly, just think.
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But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world's entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations. Want to read the papers featuring the most famous results of the sciences? You'll need to send enormous amounts to publishers like Reed Elsevier.
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Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves.
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