Replicant Children vs. Tyrell

Time is a critical disciplinary element in what defines the human condition. As Jorge Luis Borges wrote in ’The Immortal’: "Death (or its allusion) makes men precious and pathetic. They are moving because of their phantom condition; every act they execute may be their last... Everything among mortals has the value of the irretrievable and the perilous."

Time, often said to be illusory, provides the framework within which we exist. Our ability to manage time effectively provides a measure of our effectiveness as human beings.

Even for those of the leisure class for whom time seems not to be of the essence, the need for precise scheduling somehow tends to assert itself. In William S. Burroughs’s book (and presumed semi-autobiographical) “Junky” (1953), the protagonist voluntarily submits to the timetable of his addiction. Also, often times, a child reared in an undisciplined parental environment, will later seek out the implicit discipline associated with some branch of the uniformed services in an effort to maximize his or her human potential.

It is significant that the Tyrell Corporation’s replicant slaves have been engineered to have only four-year life spans as to prevent them from developing emotions and the desire for independence – in other words, to become fully human.

Corporations – like the fictional Tyrell or the factual BP – clearly remain unconstrained by time. They - like the undisciplined young (and often reckless) - see themselves as eternally immortal. Yet, they too have need of a framework within which to operate and test their mettle. This framework is profit.

Leftists are quick to point out that the profit motive is rogue, out of control, and basically anti-life. When, in fact, profit is depended on a set of the strictest, most uncompromising laws in the universe. A business that is run badly cannot succeed. Going forward, a business plan is self-correcting at every turn. It is inexorably tied to the law of supply and demand and well managed risk which, in turn, is tied in no small measure to performance and customer expectations. If left to their own devices, corporations provide real value to their customers (which is you and I).

If corporations are interfered with for criminal or political purposes, they become cancerous. It is much more likely that corporations become rogue by political interference than the other way around.

It is unreasonable to blame BP for the oil spill in the Gulf. For one thing, anyone would be hard pressed to prove malicious intent. Such intent is infinitely more likely to have originated with some hard-nosed political agenda concern (of which BP may have become an unwitting victim).

Right now it seems that the stunted emotional growth of the replicant children that are presently running our government are far more culpable for the multiple messes that have accrued on virtually every front.