Corporate ladder

I always find Star Wars’ portrayal of corporatism and industrialism very interesting especially because despite the different forms they take, they very much mirror what happens in the world we reside in. The trading, bartering, and dominance of transactional behaviours across the galaxy is amazing. Yet there is also such a strong presence of politics, of fighting for beliefs.

One of the recurring theme for those within the ranks of the empire is the idea of climbing the corporate ladder. There are characters who climb because they actually believe in the cause of the corporate, and there are those who are there for their own egos and desire to rise. As we steep ourselves so deeply in work, have we reflected upon the ladder that we are really climbing?

It may not be the corporate ladder; it could be a personal one, or that of social expectations, familial expectation. And if we are not climbing, what then are we doing? Are we even conscious of our goals as we plow through each day?

The corporate system is best not at identifying talents and allowing them to rise (the market and community system tends to be better at that); but it is very good and wringing out standardized productivity from the masses of workers. With its means of doling out incentives and disincentives, from recognition to coercion of different forms, it bends people to its agenda and will.

Have you been bent? Do you know what you are climbing?

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