Viewpoints
Coveting. Cheating. Scourging.
By +Oscar V. Cruz, JCD
“CORPORATE GREED” – this has been long since the strong and continuous drive behind many huge multi-national corporations. Its eventual over-all effect is the socio-economic plague of the times. Its ultimate result is the angry and loud global outcry against the insatiable greed behind those corporations. In plain words “Corporate Greed” means that said business corporations operate purely for profits. In fact, the bigger the profits, the better for the business. Without saying it, they look at people as no more than their milking cow. This is to say that business is for profit and people are for business.
In more explicit ethical language, “Corporate Greed” refers to business corporations without any social conscience. Conscience is what makes the necessary distinction between right or wrong, between good or bad. This is why when but an individual has no conscience, he simply does what he wants – and let everybody else beware. In the same way, when a gang has no conscience, it feeds on the trust and weakness of a community. Now, when a business corporation has no social conscience, its motto is the exact contrary of the known pledge, “All for one, one for all.” Instead its norm of action is, “All for me, none for all.”
Social conscience means attention to the welfare of the society, concern for the common good of people. This preoccupation with and consideration for the well being of society cannot but be the basic ethical standard for business corporations. Reason: It is people who give them business. Wherefore, they may not but also benefit from the people, one way or another. Otherwise, when they are instead the predator of the people, then they are in effect killing their own business.
“Corporate Greed” indulges in coveting even what rightfully belongs to the people, in cheating them even of the little they have, in scourging them with want and misery. Greed in general is that it neither knows nor accepts the meaning of enough. Greed qualified as “corporate” means that some kind of a business giant is like one big ugly insatiably feeding and feasting on the common people. This is not poetry but reality.
Just for the record, let it be pointed out that when a business corporation without a social conscience is listed in the Stock Exchange, its avaricious stance for raking in more and more profit without giving something back to society, in fact also benefits those who eagerly buy and assiduously keep their shares of stock. Thus it is that “Corporate Greed” does not only favor the owners and managers of the corporations concerned, but also their stock holders. This disturbing and distressing reality may be unsaid or unknown. But it is the truth. Would that those condemning “Corporate Greed” are not themselves unconscionably profiting therefrom.
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