Corporations and How They Govern Our Lives

The existence of large corporations has become a way of life for most of us. We have grown up around these companies as they have come to dominate our lives. These large corporations have taken over many facets of our lives. The purchasing power of large corporations has given them an unprecedented degree of power over many aspects of our lives. “They determine what we eat, what we watch, what we wear, where we work and what we do.”(Bakan,5). Corporations, who are not considered humans, are raising our children and dictating what is eaten, bought, worn and what is cared about. In times gone by, humans were shaped by their family and culture but now we are manipulated and shaped by zealous marketers whose definitive goal is to maximize profits with a total disregard to any social responsibility. There is, however, a growing trend of corporations who engage in community work and are enthusiastic on protecting the environment. “IKEA focuses heavily on sustainable forestry as you would expect from a furniture supplier that uses a lot of wood and is changing the lives of 80,000 children which is still a big accomplishment.” (Barner, 59-60). Ultimately, the employees of such corporations as well as the consumer of these companies want to actively participate in the social responsibility initiatives of the corporation they work and buy from. Corporations, through the use of their excessive marketing strategies and with relatively little risk placed upon them, corporations are able to project their power and influence on society as a whole as well as upon all aspects of governments.

Since the early twentieth century, large corporations have become part of our economic makeup. A corporation is a separate legal entity that...

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...emains, can a corporation work for both the betterment of society and at the same time make a profit? There are a handful of corporations that are coming around and understanding that if they want to be around for the long term, they need to make adjustments to the way they operate their businesses. With all the recalls in the media, Consumers are getting fed up with these establishments because these recalls were primarily caused by shortcuts on the company’s part and total disregard for our health and welfare. Today, mindfulness and genuine concern for the consumer’s health and safety needs to be a Corporation’s number one priority mission if they are to continue its profitability. Ultimately, at the end of the day, the thing that most of us really want is a decent place to live, a secure income, untainted food, proper education and good health care.