A fairer world - The Tasmanian Center for Global Learning

Did you know?
  • The American retail chain Wal-Mart has a larger annual budget than Poland. *
  • Six corporations control 70% of world trade in agricultural commodities. *
  • Microsoft and Yahoo have helped the Chinese government censor political material on the Internet. * *

Corporations


Corporations are enormously powerful and influential in the modern world. They account for more than half of the world’s largest economies – including countries. They also create employment, but not enough to justify their power and political leverage. The world’s 200 largest companies control a quarter of global wealth, yet employ less than 1% of the global workforce.

Unlike democratic governments, corporations are not directly accountable to the public. The decisions of unelected executives can affect the lives of thousands or even millions of people. Worse, the corporate world is undermining democracy. In the United States, for example, the oil and gas industries have supported the Republican Party in return for tax breaks and weaker environmental regulations.

In many parts of the world, corporations have ridden roughshod over the environment and people’s lives. Campaigns by groups such as Christian Aid have highlighted these injustices, raising public awareness and putting pressure on corporations to lift their game. Many corporations now profess a philosophy of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Some are making progress, but as the World Bank noted recently, "Despite widespread rhetoric... implementation [of CSR strategies] is shallow and fragmented."

See also Consumerism, Trade. 


Learn more about corporate power, influence and corruption

  • CorpWatch seeks to expose corporate corruption, disregard for human rights and environmental crime.They look at such wide ranging issues as the spoils of the Iraq War, global labour abuses and corporate control over the media.
  • The British equivalent of CorpWatch is Corporate Watch. While the site is UK-focused, the matters which concern them are ones that increasingly affect us all.
  • The Multinational Monitor is the journal that leads the charge against corporate power and misbehaviour. It provides a very good selection of links that can take you further in your investigations.
  • Global Witness focuses on the corporate exploitation of natural resources such as timber and minerals. 
  • Ethical Consumer is a British magazine that researches and rates the ethics of companies and corporations. It also has a selection of links to sites concerned with corporate ethics.
  • The Corporation was a very sucessful film about corporate power. Find out more at their website.



What is corporate social responsibility?

  • The Center for Corporate Citizenshipworks with global corporations to make them better corporate citizens. Their site offers analysis, tools and links, along with a selection of definitions of "corporate social responsibility" provided by major companies.
  • You can see examples of company corporate social responsibility reports at Corporate Register.
  • Ethical Corporation is a magazine and subscription-based information service that covers all aspects of ethics in relation to corporations.


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