Is This Gaming’s Own Gordon Gekko?

7 responses to “Is This Gaming’s Own Gordon Gekko?”

1. 

   effektd

   November 16, 2011 at 7:27 am

   Money does drive a lot of people to perform. I partially agree with him, if you don’t put in the effort, you’re not going to get anywhere, why should the one’s who have put in the effort help the lazy and the unmotivated? Not getting my dollars.

   However there are some that just take it too far with their wealth.

   Reply
2. 

   Chris Birke

   November 16, 2011 at 7:42 am

   Greed can be good, but ignoring people who are not motivated is at odds with profit.

   Ethics and profit will go hand in hand, moreso every day.

   If lazy is a problem, fix it. The underlying causes are not lazy people, but a society that manufactures them (through health, through culture, and through ignorance.)

   Reply
3. 

   N3RD1001101

   November 16, 2011 at 9:23 am

   Its a sad fact but what he says is true…

   …. the corporate motto however disagrees. 🙂

   Reply
4. 

   El Phantasmogoro

   November 16, 2011 at 1:01 pm

   yeah… except that isn’t at all what the protests are about.

   They are about a small group of people who have constantly manipulated the system to disproportionately benefit them, to the increasingly extreme detriment of almost every single person alive. All those other people are mad, bro. For good reason.

   Reply
5. 

   Flux

   November 16, 2011 at 1:11 pm

   See, this really pisses me off – notice how he makes a false binary out of the situation? Apparently, if you’re against massively overblown CEO salaries you’re against ALL forms of capitalism, according to this guy. I have no problem with folks at the top of their industry making more than everyone else – hell, I have no problem with the folks at the top of each company making more than everyone else – but when they make more than hundreds of their employees’ salaries combined, and then they fight to deny employees payrises in line with inflation while simultaneously greenlighting their own payrises and stock offers, they’re indisputably being overly greedy. Ambition is fine – greed is not.

   There is NO WAY that the CEO’s contribution to productivity is in line with their remuneration in any organisation I’ve worked in, and if they were receiving a fraction of what they are it would still absolutely serve as a motivational goal. Ironically, while there is much talk of the current system inspiring more folks to work harder to earn more, the reality is that wealth is concentrating in a smaller and smaller number of hands – even as the rest of us work harder and longer.

   And frankly, I find it galling in the extreme for this guy to effectively say “Yes, folks working 2 jobs at minimum wage don’t work hard, and I’m literally hundreds of times smarter than they are, as reflected in my payscale. It’s got has nothing to do with the fact that my parents could afford to send me to (an extraordinarily posh) college where I could network my way into a well-paying job – clearly, anyone with as much raw ability as me could do what I have done, and would be earning as much as me if they were as good as I am.” Sure, he didn’t use those words, but that’s clearly what he thinks. What an asshole.

   Reply
   1. 

      Flux

      November 16, 2011 at 1:22 pm

      Also, some quick google research shows that the photo above IS ACTUALLY A PHOTO OF THE CEO IN QUESTION!! That is actually how he presents himself to the world – crown, robes, wristwatch pose, mushroom cloud and all….

      I thought you guys were being all clever by finding a picture of an appropriately douchey looking dude, but nope – that’s genuinely the photo he uses on his website’s “about” page. Bravo, Will Harbin, you’re what’s wrong with America.

      Reply
6. 

   StudiodeKadent

   November 16, 2011 at 6:13 pm

   HONEST greed is good.

   Definitions: “Greed” = The desire to acquire more material possessions and wealth.
   “Honest Greed” = The desire to acquire more material possessions and wealth, but ONLY through voluntary, non-deceptive, non-coercive means.

   Let’s be honest, neither that image NOR the CEO’s response constitute intelligent critiques.

   As for the image, the problem isn’t those 400 Americans being greedy. The problem is that, to quote El Phantasmagoro, “a small group of people (who) have constantly manipulated the system to disproportionately benefit them, to the increasingly extreme detriment of almost every single person alive.”

   The problem is that many (although not all) corporations have lobbied the State for special privileges, subsidies and protections that their competitors do not get. This is DIShonest greed, for it is the use of the State to enrich oneself.

   The problem isn’t greed, but dishonesty.

   As for the CEO’s critique, the simple fact is that BECAUSE of the aforementioned dishonesty (and several other factors), quite a number of people are kept in poverty. Special privileges to special interests REDUCES social mobility. The idea that the poor are either “lazy” or “dumb” is a monstrous oversimplification which ignores the fact there ARE people of ability and initiative that are poor for reasons they have little control over.

   Then again, you can’t expect either pro-protest images or facebook comments to be full of deep thought.

   Reply