Reflexive trust in corporations... this is one of the problems we

[nadinbrzezinski]

are having.

It does not matter what the Corporate scandal du jour is... it is always the fault of the individual investor (Enron), or driver (toyota, Ford... I could go on)... but never ever is the scandal du jour the fault of the CORPORATION. This is one of the reasons why we really seem unable to make any headway in human rights and in reclaiming our rights to insert whatever you think you have a right for.

But every time we have a corporate scandal, it is the INDIVIDUAL that is blamed by fellow joe six packs. Until we break from this paradigm, creating real change will be hard...

Break the haze folks... and break from the training... and trust me, you have been trained by a media that is part of this, that tells you... it is not the Corporation's fault, EVER.

Ah Gibson could not have written this better.

[Caliman73]

1. Seconded

There are many different types of corporations and I think that adds to the confusion. I work for a private non-profit corporation that serves people with developmental disabilities. My corporation is not like a multinational for profit corporation although there are things we can do to better serve our constituents. It is not that for profit corporations are completely evil, but they are amoral. They function to make the most profit while minimizing losses. When that is the primary motive and responsibility of a corporation, then bad outcomes are certain.

Corporate scandals may be the fault of a few individuals within the corporation, but the structure and environments of for profit corporations breed that kind of problem and Caveat Emptor is not enough of when large corporations saturate people's environment with advertisement about how their product makes you a better person, solves your problems, etc... If corporations are "people" and people have an obligation to act legally and ethically, then corporations should have the same obligations that actual flesh and blood people do.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Of course there are many types of corporations

but the for profit ones only have ONE obligation... MAKE MONEY for their investors. Anything else is secondary.

But it is amazing how people seem to trust corporate stories but never, evah the individual hurt by them. This is a serious problem because this places the individual at great disadvantage.

[Caliman73]

3. Not to mention all the money they spend to present themselves positively

They hire marketing firms and psychologists to craft an image of themselves as caring members of the community, when they would just as soon allow a toxic spill to destroy that community if it saved them a couple of dollars.

[anigbrowl]

4. Individuals, like corporations, can be both good and bad.

I have encountered dishonest individuals as well as dishonest corporations. After all, corporations are ultimately just groups of individuals and their behavior represents the aggregate of individual actions.

[treestar]

5. People sue corporations all the time

There is no "trust" in them whatsoever.

Juries often see a deep pocket and the corporation often pays through the nose.

That's why they whine for tort reform so often.

[Ozymanithrax]

6. We live in a society where everything we want is supplied by corporations...

Everything...

And as good little consumers, we seek to get as much of everything as we can.

So, we come to love and adore the corporate symbols that monogram our possessions...

I mean really...you find out that the Hasbro toy you bought your kid has lead paint. Hasbro, who really used to make toys, now distributes toys from China, and the Chinese put lead pain on the toys, that Hasbro sold your child, that destroyed you child's higher cognitive functions. It's China's fault, not Hasbro. Hasbro is good. Hasbro makes neat toys. They'd never destroy your child's mind with lead poisoning.

You buy a shirt off the rack at Nordstrom, Target, or Wallmart. (It doesn't matter, because no matter what that logo says they are likely made in the same place.) You put it on and it burns your skin because they used too much formaldehyde in the manufacturing process. (But, hey, your body won't rot.) But you don't blame the company (Nordstrom, Target, or Wallmart) or the label (put your favorite label here) because they are good. The evil manufacturer in China or India or someplace Asian is bad. The corporation that made it is good.

We are consumers driven to drink the right beer, wear the right sunglasses, drive he right car brought to us by big corporations. They bring us the stuff we want. They are good.