Clearly businesses can create a lot of value. Corporations provide jobs, produce goods and services, and innovate new ways to make our lives better. However, businesses also have a dark side. Too often they harm society more than they help it. This page explores that dynamic, with the hope of leveraging business to improve society at large.
Like the other main categories on the site (environment, government and society), this page is broken up into four sections:
- Problems – Things we don’t like about the corporate world
- Causes – Reasons why those problems exist
- Goals – Things we want to strive for, as unattainable as they might be
- Strategies – Ways to make progress toward those goals, i.e. ways to make things Less Bad
While certainly not comprehensive, my goal is to arrange many of the most pressing issues so that we can find the relevant corporations, individuals and organizations (non-profits and charities) that are currently attempting to make progress. The private sector is the best way of leveraging business to help solve so many of our social problems – and making impact consumerism a reality.
The corporate world is complex, and as much as good capitalism, free markets and the private sector can do, there are always tradeoffs.
Whether it’s capturing the political process and leveraging government to do its bidding, polluting the environment, supporting destructive media, exploiting workers and on and on, there is certainly no shortage of problems in and caused by the business community.
Here are some of what I think are the biggest problems with the private sector:
Problems Caused/Exacerbated by Business
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The Health Care system is terribly broken and is costing us a fortune. We can do better ...
Increased costs are devastating communities across the country. What's behind the increase in costs, and what can we do about ...
Powerful forces are squeezing the middle class, wringing every last cent out of our pocket and into the pockets of ...
The Great Pacific Garbage Island is a swirling mass of roughly 79,000 tons of plastic debris, and it's getting bigger ...
Causes of Problems in Business
Businesses don’t exist in a vacuum, and their behavior is a result of incentives.
As legendary investor Charly Munger is famous for saying,
“Show me the incentives and I will show you the outcome.”
Here are some of the causes and the incentives that are resulting in so many of the problems we see caused by corporations.
The news media is devastating our country. Anger, division and distractions rule the day, and it's not good for anyone ...
Anticompetitive acquisitions by huge corporations cause damage across the planet. Market consolidation hurts us all and is making a bad ...
From dinner conversations to desperate marketing tactics, have you ever encountered a situation where it seemed like what people were ...
The Great Paradox of Citizens United: Corporate Personhood and Corporate Malfeasance ...
Corruption has devastating consequences and fighting it is vital to a better future ...
As individuals and as a collective, we often work against our best interests with behaviors that seem hardwired to make ...
Incentives determine what the word looks like. By designing effective strategies to incentivize productive behaviour, we can change the world ...
Businesses can't be actively harming society. Corporations need to be accountable for their impact on society ...
Money in government is really messing things up. Learn about lobbying and how it is destroying America ...
Problems Money Causes Money is Behind Many Things Fixing Money Can Do Some Great Things Strategies for Making Money More ...
People generally want to maximize their outcomes and take advantage of opportunities for gain ...
Politics is a significant source of societal problems. Differing viewpoints and ideologies lead to conflict and polarization. Political leaders prioritize ...
We are destroying the planet with all the pollution. The air, water, land, even the night sky and sound! Where ...
Corporations and politicians work together to harm the general public so that they can squeeze a few more pennies of ...
Rent seeking is an insidious problem that corrodes our economy. Lobbyings ensure the most connected get the tax dollars, and ...
Increasing inequality is not sustainable. Where does it come from? What can we do? Unless we reduce inequality we are ...
There is so much waste across so many aspects of society. Resources that could be better spent improving society are ...
The legal system is a playground for the wealthy and well-connected. It does not further justice and generally makes things ...
The Global Finance System is Rotten to the Core. Why the Stock Market is a Machine that Syphons Money from ...
Big money circulating in Washington is destroying the country. Elected officials aren't responsible to the people, and only care about ...
Nobody is in charge. There are zero adults in the room. Bad times. Real Bad ...
From the micro to the macro level, vicious cycles can have a devastating impact on society. At their core, vicious ...
Money makes the world go 'round. It doesn't solve our problems. Unless someone is getting paid, we are on our ...
Now that we’ve looked at a lot of the bad aspects of the private sector, it’s time for a little optimism.
The private sector is incredibly dynamic, and for all its faults has proven again and again that it can dramatically change behavioral patterns when given a reason to.
So how can we improve the impact of business on society? Well first we start with some goals. If we could align the goals of business with those of society at large, we could improve living standards. If we can leverage businesses to help us move to a better, Less Bad society, what would we shoot for?
What societal goals can be best achieved by harnessing the incredible power of the free market and corporations?
Here are some of the goals I think the business community is best equipped to help us reach.
Goals for Business and the Private Sector
Audacious goals we want for the corporate world:
A free market can provide incredible things. When companies compete fairly for consumers, society wins. We need a competitive marketplace ...
A strong society requires a productive private sector. Healthy competition drives innovation, reduces prices and produces good jobs ...
Is it too much to ask for real leadership? Having adults in the room would go a long way toward ...
We want people to be healthy. Overall health across society is achievable and a goal worth pursuing ...
Increased accountability can drive progress. Lack of consequences for wrongdoing are detrimental. More accountability is crucial for a better future ...
A functioning Democracy requires a trustworthy media. We can't hold the powerful accountable if we don't know what's happening. We ...
A Circular Economy is the only way to avert disaster. By reevaluating consumption patterns we chart a new course. It's ...
Transparency is a valuable resource that can help build trust, promote accountability, and create a more just and equitable society ...
And of course having goals is well and good, but we need ways to progress toward those goals, strategies that help move the needle.
Individually, each plays a role in improving different facets of our society. If we can convince business leaders to align their corporate goals with our larger societal goals, great things can be achieved.
Here are some of the most powerful strategies to leverage business to make the world a better place.
Strategies to make Business Better
More manageable steps to reach those goals:
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Scientists and theorists have identified key stages that are likely to be involved as artificial intelligence becomes sentient ...
Incentives are key to unlocking the power of business to drive change. Using our wallets to reward good behavior beats ...
The United States has some of the busiest ports in the world. They handle more than two trillion dollars worth ...
Artificial intelligence can help us create powerful solutions with far-reaching implications. Is AI the solution to all our problems? ...
Blockchain technology can save the world ...
We can't wait for perfection. There are dozens of organizations working hard to change the world for the better today ...
Everyday employees deserve more of the profits they help create. Inequality is raging and lowering the wage gap can make ...
Cooperation is the only way to move forward. Reaching our common goals can only happen if lots of people work ...
More transparency is the key to progress. Demanding real answers to tough questions if the only way we can hold ...
DNA sequencing has the potential to revolutionize many aspects of our world and save lives in a variety of ways ...
The influence of dark money erodes democracy and creates an imbalance that heavily favors corporations and wealthy individuals ...
The future is coming one way or the other. Embracing innovation means using it to drive positive change, not make ...
Energy storage is becoming increasingly important as the world transitions to renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. ...
Corporations need to be clear and honest about how they impact the government ...
The ten most powerful ways to make the world a better place. Ten simple strategies to get us back on ...
Leveraging Force Multipliers can change the world. They apply to just about any industries or field, and can have a ...
There are soooo many problems in society that need to be fixed. It seems hopeless. But surrendering, deciding it's impossible, ...
The private sector can't keep sitting on the sidelines as we decend further into chaos. We need businesses to help ...
By including the real cost of producing a good in the price, companies can provide consumers with a more accurate ...
Only by putting pressure on our leaders can we hope their behavior to change. Increasing accountability is vital to progress ...
Making progress is the only way to create a virtuous cycle in society. What is a virtuous cycle? It's basically ...
The concept of superposition in quantum mechanics suggests that when a particle is in superposition, it is many states at ...
A Pigovian tax is a tax on businesses based on the negative impact their products or services have on society ...
A framework that allows visitors and collaborators to explore societal ills, their contributing causes, and efforts underway attempting to address ...
Getting a grip on health care costs is a must. These wacked out costs are holding us back and making ...
Reducing Traffic Congestion - We're wasting too much time in our cars. It's unproductive, wasteful, and harmful to the planet ...
Reforming the finance and banking sector is essential to ensuring that the finance industry works in the best interests of ...
The FIRE sector is one of the most corrupt aspects of America. We've got to root out and prosecute the ...
Jones Actis antiquated and holds back American development and innovation. It's past time to drastically reform the Jones Act ...
By rewarding work beneficial to the collective good, we can create a culture where people are motivated to make positive ...
Robotics can help is build a better world in all kinds of ways. Investing in innovation like robotics is a ...
Systems Theory provides a framework for understanding the complexity of the world and how to improve it ...
How can we evaluate the impact of companies on society? Join us in developing The Humanity Index, a transparent evaluation ...
Impact Consumerism is how we harness the free market for US, not them. It's time to #DemandMoreforYourDollar ...
The secondhand economy is growing. More people are turning to used goods to save money, and the environment ...
There's a clear but diffficult way to solve so many of the problems we're facing. Learn a path forward to ...
Value-based care is a way to overhaul the broken US healthcare system. The goal is to shift the focus of ...
Virtuous cycles can have a profound impact on the world. Effectively leveraging these feedback loops might be the only way ...
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