In the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith scrutinized how a
nation's living standards can be raised. This book was referred to as one of
the foundations of our nation. Smith connects on various subjects ranging from
economics, history of colony establishments, and of human nature and behavior.
His wisdom still applies today.
In the opening sentence paragraph we chose to apply to
modern times, he states that: “Civil government, so far as it is instituted for
the security of property, is, in reality, instituted for the defense of the
rich against the poor, or of those who have property against those who have
none at all." Our laws are based on British Common Laws which were based
on Greek-Roman laws, which were heavily influence by the Code of Hammurabi. The
code of Hammurabi was instituted when merchants came to the king and asked him
to protect their possessions and monies. While the laws covered many aspects
such as government, slander, liability, divorce, and food, a substantial amount
dealt with trade and protection of private property. The word economy originated
from the Greek term of laws of “household management.” That is the case with
the Bernie Madoff scandal. The only reason that Madoff got caught was because
he stole from rich people. Regular people that lost their pensions and
retirement funds to companies like Enron never got justice. Their chief officers
just got a slap on the wrist and a paltry fine. Unlike the Madoff scandal,
where his assets were liquidated and given back to his victims.
This can also apply to the case of Aaron Swartz. “On January
6, 2011, Swartz was arrested by MIT police on state breaking-and-entering
charges, after connecting a computer to the MIT network in an unmarked and
unlocked closet, and setting it to download academic journal articles
systematically from JSTOR using a guest user account issued to him by MIT.”
Prosecutors threw the book at him with a million dollar fine and up to 35 years
in a federal prison. This was a case of JSTOR (Journal STORage) wanting to protect
its documents and journals, most of them which where researched by government grants,
and keep it out public domain and only available to those with money,
authority, and privilege.
And last, is the sentence “The patrimony of a poor man lies
in the strength and dexterity of his hands; and to hinder him from employing
this strength and dexterity in what manner he thinks proper without injury to
his neighbour, is a plain violation of this most sacred property. It is a
manifest encroachment upon the just liberty both of the workman, and of those
who might be disposed to employ him.” Such was the case with Apple and Google
settling for $415 million with the US government for a lawsuit brought by the
government on behalf of employees that were not able to find work between both companies.
Apple, Intel , Adobe, and Google agreed not to hire employees from each other
and in the process made their employees sign non-competing clauses.
By Jade Hacker and Adm Chartreuse
No comments:
Post a Comment