A better world is possible - Global Commons Institute

Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only.
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disrupt the hormones in our body and mimic the role of oestrogen – a hormone closely linked with the
development of breast cancer. At least 300 man-made chemicals have been found in human blood and body
tissue. Cancer-causing substances and hormone-disrupting chemicals are included in this ‘toxic burden’.
Parkinson’s Disease It now emerges that people who work with pesticides are 80% more likely to develop
Parkinson’s disease. Gardeners and farmers who use pesticides as part of their job are up to three times
more likely than others to develop Parkinson’s, according to a new study .
Sums spent on research into the causes and prevention are puny compared with expenditure on developing
new drugs and treatments, where the money is to be made and glamour is attached, says Dr Samuel Epstein,
Founder of the Cancer Prevention Coalition. Again, government is often part of the problem, not the
solution. They support research that benefits big corporations.
Equally shocking patterns of deformities and illness exist in poor rural people in countries where well known
Big Cos extract oil and minerals, and spray crops without adequate precautions that would be required in
advanced economies. Shocking nineteenth century working conditions are being exposed amongst workers
producing cheap garments and other products for well known Western brands.
On top of this, there is the damage to the environment, local businesses and to communities; anxiety, stress,
insecurity and mental illness; and huge social costs resulting from globalisation, constant takeovers,
reorganisations, centralisation and relocation – all to what end other than profit for the few?
Psychopathic corporations and leaders Dr Robert Hare, Canadian psychologist, noticed the similarities
between the characteristics of criminal psychopaths and the behaviour of big corporations and some of their
leaders. Amongst these characteristics are:
Callous unconcern for the feelings of others
Incapacity to maintain enduring relationships
Deceitfulness – repeated lying to others for profit
Incapacity to experience guilt
Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviour
It is easy to think of examples in the way global corporations, particularly those without ties to a particular
community or country, behave in the pursuit of lower and lower costs and increasing short-term
performance. A few leaders, like criminals, really do display these characteristics. However, mostly it is the
system in which they work and their role in it that results in this behaviour and gives them little alternative if
they stay in the game. They are not bad people. I am always struck by what decent human beings most top
people are. I well remember sitting at dinner beside the Chairman of a well known, global company I shall
not name. He would be a good father, partner, neighbour and friend. Yet his company produces harmful
products and pursues unethical policies in marketing them. There is a split between the man or, more rarely,
woman and his/her corporate role.
Many people at the top are completely out of touch with ordinary people and ordinary lives. They lead
insulated lives, surrounded by similar people including politicians and celebrities. In a sense they are culpable
“innocents” who are, or choose to be, almost completely unaware and out of touch with reality. We have
seen this recently in disgraced bankers holding on to their huge bonuses, pay-offs and pensions without any
apparent feelings of shame.
The narcissistic leader is another common phenomenon. They love attention. Maybe they did not get
enough as children. I name no names. You know who fit this category!
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