A better world is possible - Global Commons Institute

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Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com Patriarchy and false values underlie the unsustainable system. Such values are based on a definition of what it is to be success, to be a leader and what is cool. The prevailing values of top leaders tend to favour heroic, top down leadership and decisiveness; put money and power before human needs. Ends justify means and there is an inclination towards violence, in word or deed. They “do what is right”, regardless of the views of others. It is the conviction that one knows best; one cannot trust others and, therefore, one has to take charge. Such beliefs may be denied but are never hidden from perceptive people. Patriarchal leadership is dysfunctional because it undervalues others and encourages them to undervalue themselves. It leads to flawed strategies because they are not inclusive. Patriarchy is far from exclusive to the male gender. “Patriarchy” describes this mindset. Feminine energy is more about nurturing life, caring, relationships and consensual ways of resolving problems. Corporations are not moral beings, like humans. Corporations are there to maximise short-term profit and for the benefit of shareholders, not to be responsible global citizens. The duty is to shareholders not stakeholders. CEOs of quoted companies cannot put social responsibility first. That would often mean “suicide”. What they can do is limited - hence, the proliferation of CSR and the denial and “green washing” of the past half century. For example Africa is a tiny 1.3 % of the world market for drugs. 80% of the drugs market is in the rich countries where 20%of the world’s population live. Making cheap drugs to combat sub- Saharan epidemics, as compared to drugs for western household pets, is a low priority. Of 1,400 new drugs developed between 1975 and 2000, only 13 were for tropical diseases and 3 for tuberculosis. This is pragmatic - in the short-term. When Anita Roddick floated her company on the stock market, she learnt this lesson. Externalising costs is a key principle. Corporations succeed by externalising costs, getting the public, the taxpayer, government, society and the environment to bear them. Cheap food is a prime example. Another example is the packaging used by supermarkets. The cost to the consumer, in taxation and council tax to pay clean up bills, and to the environment is not reflected in the price. Often small retailers and traders use paper bags which you can use in your compost bin or can be recycled. Studies carried out in 2007 established that excess packaging, as well as plastic carrier bags, cost the average family about £470 a year. Councils pay £32 in landfill tax for every tonne of rubbish they throw into landfill. This will steadily rise. The Local Government Association argues supermarkets should pay towards the collection of their packaging as an incentive to cut back. Only when the public finally say “no!” and firm international controls on corporations are instituted will they give in. Corporate Charters In the eighteenth century and early nineteenth centuries, corporations like the East India Company were granted charters that set out specifically what they were required to do and their limitations. That system was eroded in the nineteenth century and corporations, especially in USA, became immensely powerful. Laws gave corporations increasing autonomy and limitations were swept away. Oil and automobile interests bought up and closed down train and tram systems to pave the way for cars, buses and airlines. In USA, extreme abuses of power gradually resulted in constraints and the recession led to the New Deal followed by post war federal agencies and regulation. However, restrictions were steadily eroded in the era of Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and George Bush Junior. People should be the sovereign authority. The power of unelected, unaccountable corporations, largely supported by timid governments has led to a global crisis of enormous proportions. Mary Zepernick, points out how long and how much energy it takes to fight one single issue, often more than a decade, whilst more new issues constantly arise. Regulation is not effective. Regulatory agencies are too weak and expensive. Fines are too small to be treated as more than a business cost. Big business and government need to serve the needs of people. Citizens have to gain control over both big corporations and government. Mary 92
Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com advocates a return to the Charter for large corporations. Such a charter defines what the corporation is there to do, what it may and may not do and its relationship with citizens. Rabbi Michael Lerner proposes: “Every corporation doing business within the US (whether located here or abroad) with annual income of over $20 million must receive a new corporate charter every twenty years, and these new charters will only be granted to corporations who can prove a history of social responsibility as measured by an Ethical Impact Report.” One might question “twenty years” as too long. The Tikkun community he founded proposes a Social Responsibility Amendment (SRA) to the US Constitution. The SRA will create a new system of Social Responsibility Grand Juries (SRGJ) composed of 25 citizens whose task would be to decide whether or not the corporation should be granted a new charter. He does not expect the amendment to be passed “any time soon” but it will stimulate the necessary debate about the principle. “A first step in developing that third path is to seek a New Bottom Line-so that we judge institutions productive, efficient and rational not only to the extent that they maximize wealth and power but also to the extent that they maximize our capacities to be caring, ecologically aware, ethically and spiritually sensitive, and capable of responding to the universe with awe, wonder and radical amazement at the grandeur of creation.” Rabbi Michael Lerner We need a global economic system and new global institutions that focus on meeting human needs; protecting the planet; tackling poverty, disease and violence; giving everyone the chance to enjoy meaningful work and a healthy and fulfilling life. There is a growing consensus that to achieve them, each country, with support from richer ones, needs the freedom to develop its own unique way to create a sustainable society in which there is wellbeing, health and education for all its citizens. Corporations will not voluntarily transform themselves. It requires fresh governance and enforceable laws at national and global level. To get international agreement to this will take some doing! It may seem a daunting but there are a lot of us. Part 2 will suggest how it can be done. Further reading: Corporate Watch, Ethical Consumer. 93
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