Multinational Corporation’s Power for Change
The world is plagued by a serge of violence that has been generated by modern political structures. World hunger, pollution, and population growth all contribute to the increasing tensions felt around the world. World hunger has been created by an unequal distribution of food and resources to the people of the world. Wealthier nations, like the United States, consume more than their fair share of resources, and throw away millions of dollars of edible food each day. This wasted food could have fed starving people in areas like Ethiopia. Another problem with food distribution is that governments are exporting crops to countries willing to pay higher prices as opposed to feeding its own people. (Haviland, 2002, pp. 475-477). This practice was the cause of a famine in India during its colonial days, when British rulers used Indians to produce cash crops to support its manufacturing plants in the U.K. Because the land and labor was utilized to produce export crops, there was little resources left to farm crops to feed the people of India and led to a revolutionary uprising of the Indian people against the British.
Pollution is another problem that continues to grow and cause problems. Air pollution, water pollution, and environmental pollution are destroying the livability of certain areas. Air pollution is causing cancers and illnesses. Water pollution is killing plant and animal life, and creating water shortages. Environmental pollution is also creating illness and death. These effects of pollution are forcing people to fight over available resources, and to fight over territories that are less polluted. (Haviland, 2002, pp. 477-479).
Population growth is causing rising problems in poorer countries where resources are already in short supply. Conflict over access to the available resources is resulting in civil warfare, murder, and political unrest. In China, for example, modern population-control policies are battling against traditional societal norms and causing tensions with its people. (Haviland, 2002, pp. 475-477).
With all these tensions already infusing the world with violence, turmoil, and suffering is there hope for change? The answer is yes, change can occur. One important and powerful element of change is the power held by multinational corporations. The actions they take can either weaken the autonomy of individual states, or they can act in a way that unifies the globe. Multinational corporations have the power and available resources to work outside the constraints of the affected governments. By ignoring foreign governmental policies and by withholding information from controlling agencies, a multinational corporation can bypass protective measures intended to protect the people. They can dump waste in areas that contaminate water and food supplies. They can move into areas to harvest natural resources without regards to the native peoples of the area, and thus push them out of their traditional territories and force them to move to another area, or in the worse case scenario cause the extinction of such peoples. In Brazil, for example, development programs funded by multinational corporations have taken traditional lands away from native people and superceded local autonomy from them. (Haviland, 2002, pp. 457-462).
The affect multinational corporations have on the globe doesn’t have to be negative. They have a great power that could be used to unify the globe as opposed to dividing it further. Top management of such corporations control natural resources in many countries. (Haviland, 2002, pp. 457-462). By using this control to redistribute resources equally among the people of the world, or at least more equally than current distribution patterns, many countries could unite to help support one another. Wealthier countries could help lessen the poverty and lack of resources of poorer countries, by providing mechanisms for food production and distribution, and also they could pay a higher price for food that is exported from the poorer countries to help raise the standards of living there.
Changing the world is not easy, and is no one method of change is a clear-cut solution to problems we face in today’s world. Resistance to change is inevitable. People in wealthier countries may oppose sending aid to other countries or paying higher prices for imports, and people in poorer countries may resist forging alliances with other groups based on religious or social differences. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “You can’t please all of the people all of the time.” This statement echoes the quandary we’re in today, and we may have to face the reality that global unity may not be truly global, but we should strive to incorporate as many people into the alliance as possible, to maximize the good for the most people.
References
Haviland, William A. (2002). Cultural Anthropology. (10th ed.). Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers.Lee, Valerie L., and Searles, Richard T. (2002). Study Guide for the Telecourse Faces of Culture. (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.
