Hertz: Chapter 5

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Hertz Chapter 5

• Politics for Sale

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Price of Politics

• Party politics has increasingly become one
  dimensional all parties support capitalism
• This makes it difficult for parties to
  differentiate themselves to voters
• The results is that the politics of campaigning
  has shifted from substantive discussion of issues
  to media glitz

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Corporate Donations

• High cost of campaigning means candidates must
  turn to business for cash
• Of course, corporations are not in the habit of
  giving something for nothing, so they expect
  favorable treatment from those they bankroll
• Hertz says this is wrong
• Mueller?

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The Result?

• As politics increasingly becomes corporate
  politics, people are
• Withdrawing from politics
• Withdrawing from parties
• Increasingly distrusting of politics

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Hertz Chapter 6

• Shop, Dont Vote

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Supermarket Activism

• As governments cozy up to companies, citizens are
  taking action
• Citizens are using their power as consumers
• Genetically modified foods Monsanto
• Shell Oil Brent Spar oil storage structure

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StopEsso Stop BushIf Bush was acting on global
warming, he wouldnt need to invade Iraq for
cheap oil. Esso, more than any other oil company
is sabotaging international action on global
warming. One million people in the UK dont buy
Esso.
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Burger Boycott Halted (9/2001) People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is calling a
halt to its Burger King boycott, which reached
over 800 restaurants across the U.S. and prompted
the burger mogul to enforce stricter standards
for the handling of its food animals.
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Restaurant in West Bank settlement angers Muslims
and Arabs Washington, DC (August 4, 1999)- On
Thursday, August 5, a coalition of organizations
will announce a worldwide campaign to
boycott Burger King restaurants. American
Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ) called for the
boycott after Burger King ignored Muslims
concerns over the opening of a restaurant in
Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.
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Sept. 11, 2000 (AP) The Reverend Al Sharpton
wants a boycott of Burger King if the world's
number two fast-food chain does not discuss its
attempt to revoke a black owner's franchises.
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Something New to Discover (2/2001) The
International Rivers Network (IRN) is calling for
consumers to snap their Discover credit cards in
two and send the pieces back to the parent
company, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. The purpose
to protest the company's financial involvement in
China's Three Gorges Dam.
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New Consumerism

• Citizen pressure is demanding that corporations
  be judged by more than economic criteria
• Citizens are holding corporations accountable in
  way politicians wont anymore

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How Widespread is Consumerism?

• New consumerism enlists the support of millions
  in the industrialized world
• Buying decisions are increasingly influenced by
  the responsibility of the corporation

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Why the Rise in Consumerism

• Fall of USSR
• Rise of global corporation
• Governments fail to act
• Communication technology

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Investment Consumerism

• 1 in 8 dollars invested in ethical funds

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Companies are Responding

• Consumer and shareholder revolts have caused
• Companies to change policies, manufacturing
  locations, labor practices, etc.
• Politicians to tacitly endorse revolts

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Hertz Chapter 7

• All That Glitters

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Consumers and Shareholders Access to Information

• In order to boycott and make ethical investment
  decisions, consumers and shareholders must have
  full and accurate information about companies
• Such information is often difficult to find
  because the media depends on corporations for
  advertising dollars
• And, as media outlets consolidate, the problem
  gets more serious

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Neutral Media Sources?

• Even supposedly neutral information sources can
  be biased
• Academic research units depend more and more on
  corporate dollars
• Same with independent think tanks
• Even government regulatory agencies are sometimes
  corrupted

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E-information

• The Web provides an unbridled source of
  information on corporations
• Web sites policing corporate activities have
  exploded, and they are available, of course, to
  anyone with access to the Web
• Email has made it much easier and faster to
  spread the word

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Downside to E-information

• Just like corporations sugarcoat negative stories
  about business, web sites often exaggerate risks
  of corporate behavior

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Hertz Chapter 8

• Evangelical Entrepreneurs

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Hope?

• In this chapter Hertz offers an unexpected
  defense of mega-capitalism
• It seems, she thinks, that many of the very
  wealthy, such as Ted Turner, Ben Cohen, etc., are
  turning out to be very altruistic
• The super rich are using their dollars to promote
  charities, sometimes of their own creation

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Business Philanthropy

• Tycoons seem to be increasingly using their
  fortunes to promote social causes, from welfare
  to economic reforms to environmental protection
• These rich individuals also often act as
  unofficial spokespersons with foreign government
  leaders

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Change of position?

• As the business of government is increasingly
  business, is the business of business
  increasingly government?