Well .NET is dead now so I guess .COM and .ORG are dead too?

The original press release from MIT news is here: https://news.mit.edu/2023/using-ai-mit-researchers-identify-antibiotic-candidates-1220

Paper the press release refers to: https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/153216

The lab this is being worked on: https://www.collinslab.mit.edu/

The paper as listed on the lab’s website: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c264953620b850c9fb03732/t/658331812865e60a33af40ea/1703096709558/nature_wong.pdf

The audacious project: https://www.audaciousproject.org/grantees/collins-lab

I think we should cultivate a habit of linking to the original material

I just say they have two parts to them. The working part and the owning part.

The working part works on the business and without it the business does not survive.

However the owning part is the part expecting an roi.

The goal of the small business owner is to separate the working and owning parts of themselves.

This fully happens when they hire employees, enough of them for themnot to work.

Then the small business owner is just an owner and their employees are the working class.

Bourgeois = owning class

Proletariat = working class

If you get income from owning (stocks [dividends, capital gains], landlords [rent]) = owning class

If you get income from working (hourly wage, salary) = working class

I think that should work. What do you think?

Good point but the upgradability is important to

Why don’t we just take investor money and invest in it ourselves?

Others have already pointed out that the covid vaccine was publicly funded ergo the benefit should be publicly owned

How did the big business become a big business?

I have literally seen a small business expand beyond my city and become regional over a couple decades. And probably will try to be national chains.

From a capitalist perspective. What’s bad about monopolization? For big businesses to be big business they need to have success. Why do you want to break success? Why do you want to pick winners and losers?

I don’t believe in any of that. I prefer distributed ownership and benefits.

If the consumers own their own stores through a consumer cooperative than they can set the prices for themselves. And hence don’t need “competition”. And since the shareholders would be the members (i.e. the consumers), in a consumer cooperative, then that means they’ll benefit. No need to have any billionaire tyrant either local nor from a big box store.

I almost completely agree with your first and last points. I was trying to say if they provide the same product at the same quality and price try to prefer the co-operative. I say similar because, personally I’d give some leeway to the co-op. But there are limits and co-ops are businesses and if they give sub par products and services than we shouldn’t buy from them.

The power is held by the owners. If it’s a consumer co-operative it is controlled by the consumer and a worker cooperative is owned by the workers. So the end users of products or the ones who have jobs. It depends on how it’s structured.

I somewhat agree with your last point. The big thing is ownership is wealth and control. If you control your store you get to chose the available options if someone else owns it it means someone else has control. So I’d rather I have control over it. Again with the previous thing. If someone else can do it sooo much better than I than I should someone’s product.

But we have to be careful because you can lead to the problem with data and big tech. I use an alternative to Google Cloud that is a cooperative but I have to pay. But with Google I don’t pay but loose my privacy. In that instance you have to determine what’s more important, given what I need it for is comparable to what I need what is important and I chose ownership and privacy over having neither of those.

I agree. At the end of the day it’s a business. But if two companies offer similar products go with the employee owned company.

The main thing about is decision making structure. Because employee or community owned stores are owned by the users. It means the end users have power over what is offered. As opposed to big box in which case it is non local non user shareholders.

If it’s better for customers and workers what’s the problem (from a capitalist perspective)?

Do you want to punish success?

If small businesses become successful and grow do you want to purposefully stop them?

I always ask what is the difference between a small and big business and nobody gives a good answer.

Small business is always used as a shield to attack workers.

Genuinely, if they don’t offer a innovative product, what’s the point of “small business”? What’s the point of a “small business” barber/retail store/grocer/etc. besides better prices?

When does a “small business” become a “big business”? And should we stop that from happening?

It seems to me that “small business” is just entitled people. If those same people became a “big business” they would want to crush their competition (i.e. “small business”) look at Bill Gates/Steve Jobs against IBM.

The only thing that “small business” people want is for them to be the owner of a “big business”. That’s it.

If you actually care about distribution of ownership and wealth. You’d advocate for co-operatives, ESOPs and distributed ownership structures. Otherwise I don’t care.

I literally don’t care if something is owned by a small or big business. The obsession of small businesses is absolutely stupid. I only care if prices are low and wages are high. If that means only “big businesses” can provide that because of economies of scale, than good for them, companies should be rewarded for doing that.

If “small businesses” want to compete they should provide equity, there’s literally nothing stopping that from happening.

There’s a local barber shop that I go to and in my province the min wage was increased 50% while the prices have climbed 80% since I started going to them. But guess what, there still the best price/service wise so I go to them. The chains cost more than double plus taxes. And a lot of the local neighboirhood goes to them.

The only business that complain about labour laws especially laws like this that put heavier burden on larger companies are poorly run companies.

I see good business treating people good so when things like this comes up it shows me that business people will always push against progress.

Then never in your life go to a fast food joint at 10 am on a Tuesday.

In terms of pure dollar amount, it should by adjusted by PPP. It should be a wage to live off of. I’m in engineering, a few years into my career, I am well paid but I should be paid more, relative to CoL. I should be doing very well even if I have a family not doing well because I don’t have one.

Wow… 6 upvotes and 6 downvotes…