The people at Google themselves are not necessarily bad, or even hypocrites: in fact, the ‘Don’t Be Evil’ quote is a sign they’re trying to bring something good to the world. Which is nice.
But: here’s the fundamental flaw in our economic system. When i was younger, i often wondered: why do large companies sometimes endorse/encourage ethically unacceptable actions ?
The answer is simple. As soon as you get big, you’re probably going to go public. Which means you’ve got shareholders. Maybe you can keep control, but often, as you grow, you can’t.
Shareholders want return on investment. That’s the way it is: often shareholders have shareholders themselves, and so on. Companies owned by shareholders are going for profit, period.
If the CEO and his boardroom chummies don’t want to get chucked out by the shareholder’s meeting, and lose their mind-boggling bonuses, they shut up and get on with it. This is why, however nice they are, i wouldn’t bank on Google.
Some count on consumer power (read No Logo) to balance this situation. If consumers are made aware of what’s going on, they might act on it. Which means an effect on the bottom line of the company, hence the need for them to build an ethically clean image. I don’t know if this is going to be enough.
Then, there’s alternatives to shareholder’s capitalism. I recently heard about Triodos. Triodos is a bank that invests mostly in sustainable development. Why am i relatively optimistic ? Because they’re not stock quoted. You can buy a ‘depository receipt’, but:
The rights attached to the Depository Receipts include those related to the dividends made payable on the Depository Receipts, and the right to attend a general meeting of 8 shareholders of the Bank (a ‘General Meeting’) and to speak at such meeting.
However, Depository Receipts do not give the right to vote at a General Meeting. The voting rights attached to the Shares belong to the shareholder, i.e. the Issuer. The Bank seeks to protect its own identity and working method with this structure.
Of course, things still depend on the bank itself, which is made of humans, liable to err. And it also depends on the will of people to buy the receipts. Still, it’s nice to know that alternative models are possible.
Disclaimer: my basic needs, my internet connection, my mortgage are all paid by a quoted company. The supermarket i go to is probably quoted, and most of the products are buy are from quoted companies. I may be a closet idealist, the alternative being to go and raise goats in the mountains.
It’s indeed good to know there are alternative methods. And true, shareholders have lots of power. Maybe people should re-think the whole system.. something between good ol’ shareholding and depository receipts..
You still don’t have me convinced when it comes to Google though.
The way google treats its products and customers, isn’t that also what makes it so popular? I mean.. would (the evil) shareholders really be so narrow-minded that they’d go machiavelli on us? I seriously doubt that. And then there’s also the fact that a lot of shareholders are actually people working at google itself.
I really don’t believe in the automic “evilness” of shareholders. I just don’t.
I think reality isn’t as bad as people love to think.
Then again.., I might be terribly mistaken and smack my head against a brick wall one day for saying all of this.
i hope you’re right
Between closet idealist, opportunist and goat shepherd, there’s always the possibility to join a *small* company instead, or start one yourself and become a better shareholder.
you’ve got a point concerning my job.
To be a real ethical consumer, it might take more of an effort.