Assuming that corporate capitalism is inherently destructive—exploitative of people and nature and a threat to democracy through its hegemonic power— then what is left to do? Is there a better alternative, or is it as Keynes said that capitalism is a horrible system but it’s the best thing we’ve got?
Well, if all the corporations were like Southwest Airlines (the founder and CEO said that love and fun were the most important values) or like the Body Shop (which was started specifically as an alternative to exploitative capitalism), then we could all go home and not worry much about the future of the world system under corporate capitalism. However, it’s not likely that anytime soon that oil cartels will premise their operations on love and fun, nor will Monsanto or Citibank commit themselves to people over profits anytime in the foreseeable future.
Modern business and economics is based on the gospel of growth.
But what if I said that the solution to our problems might be to become like the Amish! (Voluntarily, that is… in the worst case futuristic scenarios we may all be forced to use candles at night and drive around in horse drawn buggies).
But seriously folks, what if smaller is better and we opted instead for low tech, low growth negative environmental footprint lifestyles. What would be so horrible about milking your own cow, trading eggs for someone’s home made shoes? Trading in your Versace suit for overalls? We could still have our internet and high speed telecommunications, but, at the same time actualize a sort of Jeffersonian vision of America in which the term “sustainable development” is more than such an advertising slogan but the basis of all social and economic life.
What would happen to the big multinationals and their economies of scale? Big business often does things better (whatever that means), cheaper and more efficiently……I guess it would be the end of large scale inhuman/dehumanizing corporations (the top 100 Fortune 500 for sure). That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?
