Corporate Greed
Corporate Greed
An 1890’s New Jersey man works feverously into the night, consumed with the knowledge that all of humanity or at least New Jersey will benefit from his actions today. He attends to his project so intently that he is not aware of the rumbling of the distant thunder and the lightening strikes illuminating the heavy clouds of the oncoming storm. Interestingly enough, the storm appears to metaphorically announce a foreboding of what is to come, the passing of the legislative reform that would revise corporate law.
Very quickly, because time was of the essence, the man with a flourish of his pen, signs the document and breathes new life into the corporation. This act heralds the start of corporate capitalism.
The new legislature removed unpopular restrictions from corporate laws enabling corporations to incorporate without narrowly defined purposes, loosened controls on mergers and acquisitions and allowed companies to own stock in another. The legislation transferred power from the association of people to management/CEO’s of corporations. Soon, all states followed suit in order to entice and capitalized on big business coming to their areas.
The United States created a system of imperialism. People allowed this structure of capitalism to occur as corporations had effectively influenced the public dependence on the corporate structure. People realized a higher standard of living with an expendable income, a way of life rarely achieved before corporations flourished. Therefore, people turned a blind eye and sacrificed in order for the corporation to exist. Advertising campaigns portrayed the corporation as a friendly human entity. But, with all things associated with human consciousness the dark underlying an unfettered state began to irrupt.
In 1932, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandes made the fitting analogy that the corporation was much like Dr. Frankenstein’s monster in the way that the monster threatened to overpower his creator, man. This analogy was more than a rhetorical passing remark. This analogy actually presented a solution to the horrors government de-regulations put into motion in the 1890’s, 1980’s to present day in order to improve profitability to corporations. Yet, deregulation denied “the people’ through their governments the only vehicle to control corporate bad behaviors and effectively increased the distance between creator and his creation, “The Corporation”, which gave more power to the corporate structure.
The solution derived from a theme in the novel, Frankenstein, referenced by Justice Branden. Author Mary Shelly discusses with a depth of insight–the relationship between creator and creation. It is this relationship that determines the quality of life for both. The lack of this relationship results in violence and mayhem.
The violence in Frankenstein resulted when Dr. Frankenstein, thinking his creation enhanced medical science and humanity, became horrified at the potential power of his creation. Dr. Frankenstein turned a blind eye and his creation became dark without his creators attention.
Ms. Shelly stated the creator (Man) has the responsibility for “the deep consciousness of what they owed toward the being (The Corporation) to which he had given life.”
Applying this analogy to the corporate structure, as it exists today, Man is the creator of corporations and as Creator, it is Man’s responsibility to explore his/her relationship with his/her creation, The Corporation.
As an example, we are witnessing the arising of two dark aspects of corporate dynamics–power and greed. The ensuing corruption occurs when the proper balances and controls to assist people in establishing corporate responsibility are missing.
Corruption exposes the underbelly of these corporate structures, the dark side that is part of the process of change. It is man’s personal responsibility to develop his/her awareness and conscious relationship to the conflict surrounding power and greed and the shadow elements.
For instance, our society appears to be in transition challenging those in power. The path to tyranny within corporations is being challenged. We are witnessing the outrage of pubic opinion of large salaries and bonuses awarded CEO’s of large corporations even when those corporations are failing at making a profit. Whereas, before the employees were of service to the CEO and his/her management directives, the CEO’s are now beginning to answer to the people. This type of transition of having the many serve the one to the one serving the many occurs when the majority of people explore their relationship to power. If individuals were feeling powerless as they had in the past then the actions of the CEO’s would go unchallenged. This is not the case today.
People are ready to take on their personal power. In order to do that each individual explores his/her relationship to powerlessness. Greed is showing its face in many corporate scandals. For an individual to begin to take back their contribution to greed as it exists in the scandals, then he/she explores their relationship with having and not having. To be present with the suffering that underlies our projection and contribution to the world suffering draws the energy back. If enough individuals carry their own suffering then this type of suffering will have no need to manifest into our world. Corruption will cease to exist or corporations will be of service to the many.
