what is it that makes business associates per definition not-friends?
this is america. we are gret becuase we totally dont understand being decent to one another. to do busness, you must be willing to stab one another in the back. in fact, you must rely on this. to do otherwise would inturupt product consumption, a big no-no.
Neal Stephenson wrote something on this./ he says that america draws a lot of power from the abstract nature of busness interactions. its not like, say, egypt, where if you get a cab ride you become friends of the cabby, he becomes YOUR cabby, you cant pay him in cash becuase it would demean your friendship. if his car breaks down, he sends someone to tell you.
in america, we get a big company, and standerize the product so that every cab ride is the same. you do a simple transaction, and you walk away from it.
the japanese also understand this, and to a lesser degree western europe has it down. i think the lack of standarization is a major thing holding down 3rd world countries. |