If said, "So how do we create societies in which it is in the interests of
the phylum Corporation to act in our interest as well as its own?"
To which I responded, "It's a great question. It assumes that we a) have
a common interest, and b) that we know what it is, and c) therefore a
corporation can also easily know what that common interest is.
All our recent history says that none of a, b, or c hold. Now what should
a corporation do?"
In abbreviated form, If responded, "If however we can get clearer on your
a and b then it may be that societies can set or evolve norms, values,
polical structures etc that encourage the evolution of appropriate
corporate behaviour.
What a and b seem to me to amount to is a declaration into the world of
some [more?] truths that those who declare them hold to be self-evident.
The last time that was tried it laid the foundation for the emergence of a
fairly successful 'corporation'."
---- End quotes ----
If, I am completely in agreement with your position on this. I am
expressing concern only with the notion that corporations may somehow
perceive self-evident truths and be able to act on them without the
leadership of society at large. I perceive a fair amount of we/they
dichotomy on these very difficult issues -- both on this list and in the
world at large. If only it weren't for the Republicans (sorry for being
parochial here), if only it weren't for the Democrats, if only it weren't
for the corporations, if only it weren't for the CEOs, the stock market,
the capitalists, and so forth.
People always talk as if THEIR values are self-evidently the correct ones.
Unfortunately that is seldom the case. Since the issues are so cloudy, it
is unclear what to expect someone to actually do when we ask them to
implement policies or practices in our interests.
You raised the American Constitution as an example of what might be
accomplished. It's a good example, and we should perhaps try to take the
next step forward. But it is we who should do that, not corporations, not
Republicans, not any subset of our society. Another opportunity for
personal responsibility.
Hope this clarifies my point.
--Rol Fessenden LL Bean 76234.3636@compuserve.com
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>