media consumption

The Corporation

First off, this film is not a bunch of radical left-wing hippy propaganda. It is a carefully constructed, well-argued investigation of the history and role of the modern corporation in today's society. In fact, the scope of the film is so extensive that I should really view it at least a couple more times before putting together a serious review. But instead, I'll offer my knee-jerk opinion below.

In short, the film-makers are arguing that corporations today are the dominant force in the global landscape, wielding power far out of proportion to the benefits that they bring. They provide numerous examples, both theoretical and anecdotal, put forth through a combination of montage-with-voiceover and personal interviews with a variety of corporate insiders and critics.

The film heavily emphasized the single-minded pursuit of sustained profits as a corporation's only true goal, one that trumped all other considerations. The film was most powerful and persuasive when detailing atrocities commited in the name of profit. Examples of exploitation of workers' rights, the environment, and basic human needs were crucial to the portrayal of the corporation as a monstrous entity, accorded the same legal status and protections as an individual person, but lacking any moral center or driving impulse besides the desire to maximize profit.

In the wake of Enron, WorldCom, Adelphia, et al., most people are now familiar with this feature of the modern corporation. The question becomes, how do we maximize the benefits of corporations (providing jobs, affordable goods and services, etc.) while minimizing the external harm that they can cause?

By attacking the corporation as an entity in itself, I believe these film-makers were tilting at the wrong windmill. As evidenced by many of the examples put forth, corporations are at their most destructive in environments that fail to erect barriers to exploitation. Good government, strong competition, fair trade policies, and an empowered populace will all limit the harm that can be done by corporations. It seems that this should be our real goal: provide an open, safe society in which all persons (even including corporations) can function successfully.

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