On 13 Feb 2007 at 10:14, Marvin Johnston wrote:
Yes, I too read the book and found it interesting.
However judging by
quite a few comments from a google search, it appears that there might
be a bias and some inaccuracies in the book. Regardless, it does make
for a rather interesting read.
I first came across this topic when it was published as an article in
IEEE Annals of the History of Computing. I've subsequently read
critiques of the cited book as being inaccurate and biased.
I can only observe that commercial interests will chase a profit no
matter where it comes from. Henry Ford sold trucks to Stalin;
Prescott Bush and George Herbert Walker did business with the Third
Riech. The Forbes and Delano families sold opium to the Chinese.
The Chinese in turn are getting oil and gas from Sudan.
And so it goes. It's the nature of human existence.
Poke at almost any pile of money long enough and you'll find a
scoundrel, murderer or horse theif.
What this has taught me that corporate monied interests are amoral,
looking only to increase profit. Similarly, governments largely
exist to serve their own interests and, for the most part, not the
interests of the governed.
Our job as citizens of the world is not to expect these tigers to
change their stripes, but rather to make sure that their actions are
kept in the bright light of public scrutiny. Attempts to hide under
some notion of confidentiality or secrecy usually provide fertile
ground for mischief and need to be resisted.
Cheers,
Chuck