The general capitalist framework sets up people and resources for exploitation. Without a strong social democratic counterweight to capitalist exploitation we necessarily get the tragic results as exemplified by the mine disaster in Soma, Turkey.
“Turkish police are investigating 18 people, including mining company executives and personnel, as part of the probe into the Soma mining disaster, local media had reported.
The arrests on Sunday came after the government promised a thorough investigation into the deaths of 301 miners last week. According to the private Dogan news agency, prosecutors are questioning five of those being held.”
Three hundred and one human lives are gone because safety standards are bad for the bottom line.
“Families and unions have criticised the government’s handling of the disaster, and said the private firm which runs the coal mine, Soma Holding, did nothing to enforce safety standards.
Critics say that the privatisation of previously state-controlled mines had turned them over to politically connected businessmen who have skimped on safety to maximise profit.”
The maggoty quest for privatization has the same results wherever it burrows into the fabric of civil society. People are thrown into the meat grinder in an attempt to sate the voracious hunger for profit. Good for business, bad for people.
“A preliminary expert report, obtained by the Milliyet newspaper, pointed to several safety violations in the mine, including a shortage of carbon monoxide detectors and ceilings made of wood instead of metal.”
Privatization of utilities and resource extraction is almost always a bad deal for the people of the society.
[Source]
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
4 comments
May 22, 2014 at 8:11 am
john zande
Be forever vigilant.
“Turkish Canaries – Capitalism Doing What it Does Best” Arb, that has to be one of the best titles ever conceived of by man or woman.
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May 22, 2014 at 10:04 am
The Arbourist
@JZ
Thanks John. Now if only people would stop being so horrible to each other, then I could write some cheery posts about frogs or something.
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May 22, 2014 at 10:17 am
john zande
True, the world would be a better place if we paid our amphibian cousins a little more heed…
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May 22, 2014 at 9:30 pm
VRKaine
Ahh, the liberal “free pass” for government yet again. Those oh so helpless victims that work there at the mercy of big corporations. :) Hardly. They’re in bed with each other for one another. Essentially they are one in the same.
“Without a strong social democratic counterweight…”
Where is this supposed to come from, exactly? Unions? – useless unless supported by courts and government. How about the government itself? Lovely idea, except that most people elect their “savior” without having a clue of how in bed they are with big business. I agree that the counterweight is necessary, but I think it’s foolish to try and “expose”/”pressure” companies in the way most liberals do.
And as for safety, it’s is ultimately the responsibility of governments and individuals themselves to enforce. Here in Alberta an individual has an obligation to refuse work or they personally can be held liable as well.
If the government is too weak and people are too ignorant, however, then corporations that are filled with people faster, smarter, and more proactive will exploit this weakness and ignorance and use both government and the general public as their bitch. A politician then becomes cheaper to pay for than an avoidable-death/injury lawsuit, and we see the horrible events and outcomes that we see. Blame just one party in a 3-party equation? Useless, I say. Put pressure on government AND on business equally and I think you’d see more things change.
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