Actually, democracy dies in H.R.

HR, Unions, and Workplace Power

• Several comments unpack “HR” as the internal apparatus that protects the company first, employees second; “HR is not your friend” is a recurring motif.
• Many argue unions historically protected workers far better than HR, though some share experiences of corrupt, gatekeeping unions.
• One camp sees worker cooperatives as the real solution: eliminate the owner/worker split and align incentives, even handling downturns via shared wage cuts instead of layoffs.
• Others push back that hard-to-fire environments reduce hiring, hurt competitiveness, and can entrench low performers.

Layoffs, Innovation, and Labor Protections

• One side: layoffs are necessary to correct over‑hiring, enable pivots, and sustain innovation; high performers welcome removal of “coasters.”
• Opposing side: layoffs destroy morale, push out high performers first, and squander organizational knowledge; strong protections do not preclude innovation and may actually support risk‑taking.
• Disagreement over whether the U.S. is an “innovation outlier” and whether recent tech (e.g., AI) counts as meaningful innovation.

Mediocre Careerists, Authoritarianism, and “Banality of Evil”

• Many connect the article’s findings to the idea that ordinary, often mediocre, careerists will do “dirty work” for promotions or job security.
• Long subthread debates whether a famous case study of a Nazi official was a true example of a banal bureaucrat or an ideologue play‑acting as one.
• Some note that similar career pressures can also push people into coups or resistance, not just collaboration.

Human Self‑Interest and Behavior

• Extended argument over whether humans “act in their self‑interest.”
• One view: people act on what they believe is in their interest, even when it’s objectively harmful (smoking, gambling, voting against material benefit).
• Critics say this framing is so broad it becomes meaningless; values, time horizons, and beliefs differ too much for a simple rule.

Democracy, Institutions, and “Losers” in Competitive Systems

• Several comments emphasize that businesses and many state bureaucracies operate as authoritarian hierarchies; this parallels how mediocre actors enable authoritarian regimes.
• Some highlight that professionalism/meritocracy alone don’t safeguard democracy; how systems treat the “losers” of competition matters.
• Others note that modern politics in many countries features incompetent or pliant legislators who simply follow party leadership, concentrating real power in unelected elites.