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Their expansion to China.



Are you using Slack, Uber, Docker etc.? Because if yes, then you're not the most ethical either, as these have investors from Saudi Arabia to the CIA. China is easy to pick on, (and am not saying it shouldn't be picked on), because it is a competitor to the U.S, however if it is such an ethical concern for you, there are earlier partnerships you should be concerned about.


China is easy to pick on because it's the greatest evil the world is facing today. There are plenty of other shitholes around the world, but only China is capable of forcing almost every country and company into their submission.

Also, there's a big difference between using a free product and working for a company that supports China/Saudi Arabia/etc. Or in YC's case, bringing billions of dollars worth of investment into a country that sends Muslims to concentration camps, and helping them build a dystopian surveillance state that will force everyone to spread their propaganda and fall in line; while being completely helpless as hundreds of millions of lives are destroyed..

That being said, I do try to avoid using products of unethical companies, and I would resign without a second's hesitation if I found out my company was involved with these evil governments.


> China is easy to pick on because it's the greatest evil the world is facing today.

Not really a big fan of China, but lets be a bit more consistent here.

China is in the middle of an empire-building enterprise and like every such enterprise, (UK, Russia, United States), does many awful things. Yet compared to some places in the Middle East, I don't think it's nearly as evil. Certainly not "the greatest evil the world is facing today", (the only way I can see that is if you think U.S. global supremacy is great).

Personally, I'd argue the greatest evil the world is facing today is people in power ignoring climate change.

> only China is capable of forcing almost every country and company into their submission

You must have missed the war in Yemen, as an example.

> there's a big difference between using a free product and working for a company that supports China/Saudi Arabia/etc.

How so? The products I mentioned are not free software for the most part, by using the product, (even their "free" plan), you're supporting the company China/Saudi Arabia invests in and thus supporting these governments economically.

> bringing billions of dollars worth of investment into a country that sends Muslims to concentration camps

As I said, that's really a case against empire building and a case I agree with, however it's been done by every empire. Similar things have happened at black sites in Iraq etc. so I think the consistent line to take is to be against investing in any empire in that case, which would include YC's home turf.

> I would resign without a second's hesitation if I found out my company was involved with these evil governments

That is a great stance, however the cynic in me thinks they probably already are in some way, even if you don't know it.




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