Big business must be kept accountable, not revered.
Hi!
I have been spending the last few months making my way through the FInal Fantasy 7 Remake (taking some time since I can only play when Joy is asleep). One thing that constantly amuses me now that I play it as a working adult, is how the antagonist is a mega-corporation, the Shinra Electric Power Company. I recall joking that this is what will happen if the FAAGM companies merge.
Alongside this, two other sets of business news caught my attention. First is the dispute between Basecamp and Apple over Basecamp's new email app - Hey. This ignited a debate whether it was fair that Apple could make it compulsory for apps to include in app purchases - which gave Apple a 30% cut. Is Apple justified in using its market dominance in the mobile market to impose this on developers? Many small developers also weighed in on twitter about how this made it difficult for them to grow their business.
The other category of news was accounting scandals. Most prominent of these was Wirecard, with billions of dollars possibly being falsified. Closer to home, there are investigations into accounting issues with Hyflux and Hin Leong. I always feel a sense of anger when I read about these accounting scandals. Leaders of these companies are not only financially rich, but also treated with respect and influence in society as being successful businesspeople, having brighter minds and better work ethic than the common folk. These scandals reveal that their wealth is built on a lie. When it all collapses, the size of their business also leaves ripple effects that hurt many others.
Big business is under alot of pressure to earn profits. Owners and investors are separated from the business and its stakeholders, and demand not only profit maximisation, but year on year growth of profits. However, big organisations are inherently hard to run and likely inefficient. I think this combination creates the incentives to find less ethical means to maintain success.
I wonder how many big businesses are truly deserving of their success. Where their success is achieved by unfair business practices, or creative accounting techniques, it is extracting rather than creating value for their community. I do not want to be quick to label all big business as evil, I am sure many are in fact legitimate. However, I do think they need to be held to a much higher standard of accountability, since they have the power to occupy large parts of our lives.
While this seems more like a question for law and regulation, for regulation to be applied forcefully, it must be supported by society. Thus, the sentiment of the common person must first change. We need to remove our reverence for big business and their leaders, and replace it with a healthy suspicion. Rather than assume phenomenal success is purely from hard work, we should expect big business to demonstrate to a high fidelity that they have not crossed any lines.
Stay safe!
James
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Ideothetic Flow is a small passion project where I share my reflections on challenging common norms and trying to be a better person.
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