Thoughts about “The Corporation”

There were two discussion points in the film that I found particularly interesting in relation to the idea that the human version of a corporation is a psychopath. First, the idea that corporations often only obey the law when it is cost-effective to do so. An example given was corporations not following environmental policies that would add significant expense to adhere to because even if they were fined they would still profit more with the fine if they had incurred that expense. The second point of interest came from the idea that every inch of the planet should be owned by someone. This brings to mind the situation where the CEO of Nestle made a statement saying that having fresh drinking water was not a human right and it should be privatized. In both the above points the obvious psychopathic trait would be focusing solely on profit regardless of the harm that may be done to others.

Here, I can see how a corporation could be seen as having psychopathic traits, but what I struggle with is how the focus is on the corporation itself rather than the actual decision-makers within the corporation. I understand it is not often a single person making unilateral decisions so it is complicated process with shareholders and many other factors to consider, but I struggle with the idea that the decision-makers can limit their own liability because they act within a corporation. Corporations, especially large ones, have the power and potential to cause great harm, so perhaps there should be more personal liability placed on those making the decisions rather than less. However, if the corporation just the sum of its parts (people) and together the “psychopath” is formed and the individuals’ contributions to the psychopathy can’t be distinguished – is that fair? The problem could be the way the parts are put. As with the Stanford prison studies, maybe it is the situation and structure of the corporation that is causing the psychopathic tendencies. There doesn’t seem to be an easy answer to the questions “The Corporation” discusses, so I will be left thinking about it – but it was a very eye-opening documentary that definitely chips away at those rose-coloured glasses.

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