A false god's appetite

I am slowly making progress into The Democracy Playbook.  (My first post can be found here.)

Democracies and business are co-dependent: a healthy democracy needs successful companies, and successful companies require a healthy democratic society.

Authoritarian and democratically backsliding nations tend to be reliably poor places to conduct business. Russia, for instance, is ridden with structural and political issues that harm businesses. Business leaders and property holders accused of failing to comply with laws (often with little or no legitimate evidence) can be stripped of ownership rights or have their revenues seized. Russian corporations can also be pressured to sell their shares to the government, as happened with the profitable oil company Yukos in 2004.  Western-based corporations, in particular, are often targeted with government threats of regulatory changes, unplanned inspections of facilities, and other increased and arbitrary regulation that slows efficiency.

Conversely, when democratic conditions improve, so too does the business environment. According to a recent quantitative study, higher levels of democracy have led to more positive labor market outcomes in Central and Eastern European countries. The study found that democracy increases average annual hours worked and employment rates, in addition to reducing general and long-term unemployment rates. Thus, corporations that work to advance democracy will be furthering their labor pool, and so their lasting interests.

While framed in a positive manner, this section of the playbook makes it clear that they need a large portion of a society onboard to succeed, and any who dissent are put down and shamed by the mob, perpetually de-incentivizing a true revolt against modernity. 

What these corporations are really after "labor market outcomes".  They want your hours, they want your life.  The system wants you so needy of relief that you will spend money on every menial convenience, thus replenishing itself.  This keeps the corporations alive for their ultimate goal - continual sacrifice to their god, Democracy.  The playbook continues...

Corporations should also avoid providing a veneer of legitimacy to illiberal leaders, and instead ensure that investment decisions are informed, principled, and sensitive to the country context. For example, Hungary’s Orbán has encouraged the continued investment of the German car companies such as Audi and Daimler in the country, granting them tax reductions, subsidies, and access to decision makers. In return, he has used their support to legitimize his economic policies, which contributes to his continued grip on power. Such companies should, as Thorsten Benner has argued, disinvest from the Hungarian economy, and demonstrate their support for the liberal democratic institutions that Orbán is working to dismantle.

Democracy is a god that will ruthlessly cut down it's own worshipers.  You can see here how it recommends companies leave entire economies because the leaders refuse to bow to it.  It amuses me that even cheap gods are ultimately perverse imitations of the God who will spit out the lukewarm.  The playbook goes on to task it's adherents with continually creating new methods of indoctrination, and still yet making them responsible for its total burden of education and upkeep.  The cross may be a burden,  but it is an easy one considering what the god of this world asks.