Just to clarify, I do oppose the existence of corporations as they currently consist under the law. I seriously doubt that meaningful reform is possible, and the best way to go forward would be to abolish those entities entirely. My main objection I suppose is that they are undemocratic oligarchies that create dissociative behaviors between members of the organization that bleed over into other aspects of those members lives and society in general. They are a cure worse than the disease. I feel other organizational models such as worker cooperatives or partnerships are being shown to perform better in every category and promote more ethical behavior, and most importantly, regard humans as more than just a cog in the machine.
Under the current system, the mailroom guy wins the lottery, buys out his company, and suddenly his values are the most important - why? Did winning the lottery give him vast amounts of business experience and industry knowledge? Did it give him important skills in leadership, management or strategic vision? No, it just gave him cash, which is the only thing that matters at the end of the day under the current capitalist system.
I suppose that is what makes me a leftist in general, and a socialist in particular. I do not see, nor want, money to be the end all be all of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I value an infinite number of things more important to life than money. Money is just a fucking tool. It is an accounting trick. But capitalists create the perversion that money, not the true tangible wealth it represents, as the most important aspect of an economy and society. And so we end up a shitload of shiny coins, and crisp new bills and databases filled with glorious numbers while our roads, buildings, knowledge, skills, and abilities atrophy and wither away. And the modern corporation is the epitome of modern capitalism.
So am I afraid? I suppose I am fearful of organizations that hire people to just be mindless cogs in a mindless machine that wants them to remain ignorant of what exactly that machine does on a day to day basis. I suppose I am fearful of companies that make people prostitute themselves just to make a few dollars so they can buy a few shiny toys to make them forget the majority of their day is being spent not doing a damn thing to make the world better, only ‘richer’. I suppose I am fearful of corporations that exist for no other purpose than to enrich anonymous shareholders whose only qualification for ownership is cash, shareholders who have not invested anything tangible in helping make the corporation succeed, but who claim all the returns it makes and in the end, more often than not, get screwed by the agents they ‘hired’ since the corporate model is an exercise in unaccountability.
Is every corporation like this? Of course not. Most small and medium privately held enterprises are corporations in name only with conscientious owners and a small group of employees where everyone does know everyone else and there are no mindless drones, but often friends and family working together to provide a good product or service. But the corporate model is also a hindrance as well as a benefit to those groups. The employees are not associates or partners, and when an owner retires or has an unfortunate demise, there are no guarantees the next owner will be as conscientious.
And while those types of corporations are the actually majority in this country and most other Western economies, a few large corporations control the majority of the assets and turn society itself into an undemocratic oligarchy. A few large corporations pervert the model and use it as a sword as well as a shield and conduct operations that are best described as evil, but are still legal, and will likely remain so since they have bought enough of the politicians.
And there is a difference between evil and unethical. There are many forms of business/types of commerce that I find unethical, but not evil. Unethical just means they are amoral. The only thing they value are themselves. Self-interest par excellence. As long as they are kept honest and people know what to expect, if they can find enough suckers to keep them in business, so be it. Evil for me is a willful disregard for life, actively causing needless pain and suffering - something that the corporate model makes far too easy to accomplish. Relying on some small supplier to do the actually dirty work is no different than hiring a hit man rather than pulling the trigger oneself. The victim is still dead (or maimed or mutilated) because of ones actions.
Both behaviors will occur regardless of what organizational models we choose, but it would help to choose one that makes it less likely to occur, not guarantee that it will.
And finally, I have no problem with commerce and free enterprise though I do believe that society’s interests as determined through democratic processes outweigh any private interests in those cases where they conflict. (And yes, I know that is not the American way. The United States will never be a socialist country. I am only hoping to prevent the contagion from spreading…) So while everyone should have the privilege of engaging in commerce and be able to use whatever legal model is available for doing so, I prefer models that are democratic and empower their associates and abolish those that are neither.
And I do see some great reforms taking shape. I do think corporations are entering their sunset years. The next generation will have an entirely different mandate for commerce besides maximizing shareholder return (and executive salaries). Fair trade will take precedence over ‘free’ trade.