Red Collar Crime
I am a vegetarian and against the death penalty. We need to evolve beyond killing as a solution for food and punishment.That said, the news this past week that China had executed a white collar criminal and has a history of doing so, wasn't upsetting for me. The barbarism of execution was temporarily overshadowed by a sense of justice. At least in one country, suits aren't above the law and the crimes they commit are taken seriously.
People who use the trust they are given as professionals to hurt society should be held accountable in this country. Instead, we treat business professionals like kids playing a board game. We isolate their actions to the game and create new rules.
Kill someone in "real" life and face the death penalty. Create a product for your employer that kills people and all you have to do is fork over some monopoly money (insurance money). Oops.
If we hold companies accountable solely to the function of creating profits, then it is logical that our stick is to take away that money.
The problem is that this little game is unjust. This is not part of our social contract. It represents a corruption of the contract, which has been hidden behind the red scare followed by our collective national wealth and status quo.
We don't need to start executing executives like the Chinese. What is needed instead is a redefining of companies' goals so that there are strong disincentives for betraying the public trust. Executives need to realize the ramifications of their companies' activities deal with real lives, and they are not just playing a board game.
Aaron, your point about white collar crime - or, rather, white collar criminals - is a good one. Perhaps you missed the recent case of Robert Watson, the Kraft tomato buyer who was just sentenced to jail time for accepting bribes from his tomato supplier. You probably missed it because none of the major news carriers (that I can see) have picked it up, unfortunately.
The irony is that he's been sentenced to also pay restitution TO Kraft. I don't know the details of the case, but it seems to me the individual's level of legal protection has been far eclipsed by the corporation's.
This is what really eats at me - that the corporate entity has gained such a foothold to the point that they have more rights and protections than the individual.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on the B corporation format (not sure I've seen it mentioned here before).
That Kraft story is crazy and so on point.
As for B corporations, the devil is likely in the details. If it opens them up to more liability I doubt it would be attractive. It needs to be more universal I suspect.
wow, you put forward some interesting points here