From: Justin Corwin (thesweetestdream@hotmail.com)
Date: Mon Jan 22 2001 - 17:40:51 MST
"Terry Donaghe" <Terry@Donaghe.com> sez:
>As someone who makes a living off of Microsoft, I'd like to write a few
>things:
i think this is a very important point. it's easy to dislike successful
people who make success rather than quality-oriented decisions, in an
abstract and ivory tower sort of way, but it's hard to deny, when
pragmaticism sets in, that they haven't furthered the GENERAL cause of
economy, their industry, and standard of living.
another example would be Ford. yes he was a control freak, yes, he refused
to change the Model T until he was forced to. and yes he was really really
odd in private and public life. but how many jobs did he create? how much
resources did he use and put out for public consumption? and how many people
have benefited from things like the Ford Foundation(which is a tiny
percentage of how much money ford made).
I can dislike many of the decisions Gates makes. but i have to respect both
his business acumen, and his programming skills(expanded through his company
and resources(peons) of course). as something of a pragmaticist, i must
point out that this is a man who is DOING things, and on a scale unheard of
for any other entity. the man has donated more money than has EVER been
donated to Educational purposes before in a single sitting. as a student, i
can appreciate that.
not to sound too Randish, but industrialists are extropic.
justin
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