Quote:
Originally posted by moon@Jun 9 2005, 08:28 PM
Here are some links to what companies are doing in a variety of communities, they came form the Government of Canada website, not sure if that is trustworhty enough for you but anyways:
http://www.shell.ca/code/values/soci...r_society.html
http://www.suncor.com/default.aspx?ID=3
http://www.placerdome.com/sustainability/social/
There are plenty more these are just a few companies and what they are doing to improve the regions that they are operating in and to show that they are giving back to the worlds communities. It may not be enough for what you want but don't act as though they aren't doing anything.
Many of the weathiest individuals in the world routinely give hundreds of millions if not billions of dollars to a variety of causes both publically and quite oftne privately as well. These acts are well known so I don;t think I need to document them but if I do I will search and find the reports of them doing so.
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Well they've definitely improved over the past few decades. And that has typically been in response to a more vocal consumer base that has been asking questions like, "What are you doing for the environment?". But what they are doing is limited. It isn't enough for me. Their bottom line is that they still have to make the most money they can for their shareholders. Only the threat of boycotts and bad press has them doing anything at all.
Their goal is still to make the most money for their shareholders. They are legally obligated to do so. This is a selfish goal that doesn't take into account the best interests of humanity. We need to somehow change this. The current corporate system will exploit the environment and will exploit the third world. You can't deny it, it's happening all the time, all over the world. The case studies are endless.
Giving to charities is great. Helping the poor is great. But all that does is slightly offset the exploitation that currently exists. We need systemic change. We need to change how the world operates. We have to grow up at some point and realize we need to look after the best interest of humanity, not just ourselves. We need to work together at some point for the good of everyone, not just the good of ourselves.
Obviously it's a monumental task. And obviously the current systems in place will resist change. Some will say it's an impossible task, I don't think that's the case. And if we don't change things, I believe change will be forced upon us at some point. I don't think we can repress the majority of the world in poverty forever, at some point they are going to rise against that.
As US Senator Joe Biden said just recently when talking about foreign aid to Africa...
“If you don’t visit the bad neighborhood, it will visit you.”