[governance] corporates and ethics
parminder
parminder at itforchange.net
Sun Jul 6 12:26:38 EDT 2014
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jul/06/we-shouldnt-expect-facebook-to-behave-ethically?CMP=fb_gu
"Besides, the idea that corporations might behave ethically is as absurd
as the proposition that cats should respect the rights of small mammals.
Cats do what cats do: kill other creatures. Corporations do what
corporations do: maximise revenues and shareholder value and stay within
the law. Facebook may be on the extreme end of corporate sociopathy, but
really it's just the exception that proves the rule."
(quote ends)
Well, if I had said these sentences, there would have been an immediate
multistakeholder (MS) condemnation, for not conforming to the
multi-stakeholder spirit!
It is these corporations that are to sought to be given special
political rights by the 'equal footing' MS brigade, to be on the policy
making table and making political decisions, for all of us. ... The US
public, and its civil society organisations, are still reeling under the
impact of the US court ruling to allow unlimited corporate contribution
to campaign financing, on the basis of a novel political construction
that corporates have the right to freedom of expression, which cannot be
diluted under the first amendment. This judgement, many in the US and
abroad feel, is having the impact of spinning US politics so much away
from its democratic foundation that soon it may be difficult to consider
US as a really working democracy.
But that 'novel political construction' of allowing corporates to have
human rights was nothing. The 'equal footing' MSists go much much
further; they want corporates to have voting rights and decision making
powers for public policy matters. The rest of world has simply not waken
up to this demon, which is making slow but serious progress, although
somewhat clandestinely, against the values and institutions of democracy.
parminder
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