When Profits Trump the Public Good: The Corrosive Consequences of Corporate and Political Corruption

I would never consider myself an environmentalist, not-in-a-million-years. In fact, I have very strong opinions against them, especially these days. They have become a public nuisance and are even endangering the public and inciting and provoking violence. Even if their hearts are in the right place, they’re in the wrong.

However, that does not mean that I don’t care about the planet, the environment or the public good, quite the opposite actually. I care deeply about our planet, the environment we live in, the people we live with, do business with and the greater community as a whole.

I believe we all have a tremendous responsibility to uphold the moral principles that founded this country and that will leave future generations a healthy environment to live in and a healthy financial system to work and do business in, as well as a healthy country to live and raise a family in.

Remember safe neighborhoods? They’re now almost a thing of the past. Remember when homes were affordable? Now they’re almost entirely reserved for the wealthy. Remember when you could trust companies? Well, they have now purchased politicians who allow them to skirt laws, pollute the environment and harm the public through unhealthy foods, unsafe medications and false information.

When did we forget that we had a moral and ethical responsibility to the environment and our fellow man, to the public welfare, to our children and future generations?

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for making a profit, I am pure capitalist in fact, but not at the expense of throwing the planet and the public under a crashing bus.

Here are some thoughts about the moral and physical impact business owners have on the environment, society and our great nation.

The Moral and Ethical Responsibility of a Business Owner

Businesses and their owners do have important moral and ethical responsibilities beyond just their legal and financial obligations to the state they operate in and their employees.

Again, I am a capitalist and I believe the first goal of a business is to earn a profit by providing a good product or service. Then however, there are other important responsibilities to consider.

There are strong arguments that businesses have a moral duty to consider the broader impact of their activities on stakeholders, communities, and society as a whole.

And I say all this after many decades of watching large and small businesses avoid these responsibilities and pollute the rivers and oceans and destroy our farmlands and mountains. And of course, we’ve all seen the devastating effect they’ve had on our society by buying politicians and causing public harm.

Some key ethical responsibilities for business owners include:

1. Treating Employees Fairly: Businesses have a moral obligation to provide fair wages, safe working conditions, reasonable hours, and opportunities for advancement to their employees. Exploiting or mistreating workers is unethical.
2. Environmental Stewardship: Businesses should aim to minimize their environmental footprint, use resources sustainably, and take steps to mitigate any harmful ecological impacts of their operations. Protecting the planet is an ethical imperative. We need to adopt new, updated manufacturing methods.
3. Serving the Public Good: Businesses should strive to provide valuable goods and services that genuinely improve people’s lives, not just maximize profits. Prioritizing societal wellbeing over pure self-interest is an ethical responsibility. Yes, make money, of course, but don’t destroy and pollute the environment along the way.
4. Engaging in Fair and Honest Business Practices: Deceptive marketing, predatory pricing, anti-competitive behavior, and other unethical business practices violate moral standards of integrity and fairness.
5. Contributing to the Community: Businesses have an ethical duty to be good corporate citizens, supporting local communities through charitable giving, volunteerism, and economic development initiatives.
6. Considering Stakeholder Interests: Businesses should balance the interests of shareholders with those of other stakeholders like employees, customers, suppliers, and the broader public who are impacted by the company’s actions.
7. Promoting Social Responsibility: Businesses can and should use their platforms and resources to advance important social causes, from diversity and inclusion to human rights and social justice.

You could even look at all this from a purely selfish point of view as well. If you don’t take care of the environment, you will have no place to conduct business. If you don’t treat people fairly, no one will do business with you. If you don’t offer a good product at fair prices, no one will buy your products. So all this works from any perspective.

Ultimately, businesses are not just profit-maximizing entities — they are social institutions with profound impacts on people’s lives. Let that sink in for a minute, you and your business have profound impacts on people’s lives.

Upholding strong moral and ethical standards should be a core part of any business owner’s responsibilities, not just an optional add-on. Balancing profitability with meaningful social contribution is the hallmark of truly responsible capitalism.

So yes, business owners absolutely have important moral and ethical responsibilities that extend beyond just their legal and financial obligations to shareholders.

A strong case can be made that businesses, as powerful societal institutions, have a duty to consider the broader impacts of their activities on local communities, the nation, the environment, and humanity as a whole.

Not to beat a dead horse but:

Responsibilities to the Local Community:

• Supporting community development initiatives and nonprofits
• Providing jobs and economic opportunities for local residents
• Engaging in sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices
• Being a good corporate citizen and upholding high ethical standards

Duties to the Nation:

• Prioritizing domestic manufacturing and sourcing to support the national economy
• Advocating for policies and regulations that serve the public interest
• Contributing to critical national infrastructure and institutions
• Promoting patriotism, national unity, and civic engagement

Responsibilities to the Environment:

• Minimizing toxic waste, plastic waste, microplastics, non-biodegradable materials, and ecological footprint
• Investing in clean energy, recycling, and sustainable operations
• Protecting natural resources and habitats such as forests and trees, rivers and lakes and our precious oceans
• Educating employees and customers on environmental stewardship

Duties to Humanity:

• Ensuring safe and ethical working conditions globally
• Respecting human rights and promoting social welfare
• Providing affordable, high-quality products/services
• Philanthropic efforts to address global challenges

Again, at the end of the day, businesses are not just profit-maximizing entities — they are powerful social institutions with profound impacts on people’s lives.

Even as a capitalist, I believe that business owners have a moral imperative to balance their own financial interests with a genuine sense of responsibility to the greater good. This may require sacrificing some short-term profits in service of more sustainable, ethical, and socially conscious practices.

Prioritize Profits Over Everything Else

When large corporations prioritize profits over environmental protection, public welfare, and ethical business practices, it can have devastating consequences:

Environmental Degradation:

• Corporations may cut corners on pollution controls, waste disposal, and sustainability measures to boost short-term profits.
• This can lead to toxic waste dumping, habitat destruction, and other severe environmental damage that harms ecosystems and public health.

Public Health and Safety Risks:

• To cut costs, corporations may sell products or provide services that knowingly put consumers at risk, such as unsafe vehicles, dangerous drugs, or contaminated and processed and unsafe foods.
• This can result in injuries, illnesses, cancer and even loss of life among the general public.

Worker Exploitation:

• Corporations may abuse their power to exploit workers through unsafe working conditions, poverty wages, and denial of basic rights.
• This exploitative treatment of employees is unethical and deprives people of dignity, opportunity, and financial stability.

In fact, these kinds of unethical practices is what lead to the proliferation of labor unions, which has had devastating effects on our economy and our domestic manufacturing and jobs. It’s ironic, their stated intent was to protect employees, but they destroyed companies and the very jobs they set out to protect.

Political Influence Peddling:

• Corporations may use lobbying, campaign donations, and other means to sway politicians and regulators to weaken or bypass laws meant to protect the environment, workers, and consumers.
• This undermines democratic processes and enables corporations to put profits ahead of public welfare. And these days, we could name several politicians who are guilty of this, but I’ll save that for another article.

Erosion of Public Trust:

• When large corporations demonstrate a consistent pattern of prioritizing profits over ethics and the greater good, it severely damages their reputation and public trust in business.
• This can lead to consumer boycotts, stricter regulations, and an overall hostile business climate.

Ultimately, when corporations abandon moral and ethical responsibilities in the pursuit of ever-higher profits, it represents a betrayal of the social contract.

While businesses must remain profitable to survive, they have a duty to balance those financial interests with a genuine commitment to environmental stewardship, worker protection, and public safety. Sacrificing those higher responsibilities for short-term gains is shortsighted and destructive in the long run.

Political Corruption in Practice and Its Consequences:

When elected officials become corrupt and prioritize their own financial interests over the wellbeing of the people and the environment they were entrusted to protect, it can have deeply corrosive effects on democracy, public trust and the public good:

Undermining of Democratic Institutions:

• Corrupt officials abuse their power and influence to enrich themselves, rather than faithfully executing the duties of their office.
• This erodes public faith in the integrity of government and democratic processes, fueling cynicism and apathy among citizens.

Regulatory Capture:

• Corrupt officials may allow themselves to be “captured” by special interests, using their position to weaken or avoid regulations that would constrain corporate profits.
• This enables companies to externalize the costs of their activities onto the public, through environmental damage, worker exploitation, public health risks, etc.

Misallocation of Public Resources:

• Corrupt officials may divert taxpayer funds and public resources towards projects or initiatives that benefit their own financial interests, rather than serving the greater good, which should be illegal and come with strict punishments and consequences.
• This diverts critical resources away from infrastructure, social services, environmental protection, and other public priorities.

Environmental Degradation:

• Corrupt officials may allow corporations to engage in unsustainable extraction, pollution, and other environmentally damaging practices in exchange for political donations or personal enrichment.
• This can lead to the destruction of natural habitats, depletion of natural resources, and severe public health consequences.

Erosion of Public Trust:

• Repeated instances of corruption and self-serving behavior by elected officials severely undermine the public’s faith in government and democratic institutions.
• This can fuel political polarization, the rise of demagogues, and a general breakdown in the social fabric and civic engagement, which of course, we’re currently seeing in the streets of almost every city and state.

Ultimately, when elected representatives betray the public trust in pursuit of their own financial interests, it represents a fundamental violation of the social contract.

The resulting damage to democratic norms, environmental protections, and the overall public welfare can be profound and long-lasting. Strong ethical standards, robust accountability mechanisms, and an engaged, informed citizenry are essential safeguards against this kind of corrosive corruption.

Overall, upholding these higher moral standards is not just good for society — it can also provide businesses with a competitive edge by enhancing brand reputation, employee morale, and customer loyalty. Responsible capitalism, in which profitability and social impact are harmonized, should be the ideal that all business owners strive towards.

Also, responsible governorship over self-interest should be the moral compass of politicians, after all, that is why we voted them in office in the first place.

So maybe you didn’t know that starting a business came with such a large social contract, but it does. Make as much money as humanly possible, but keep in mind that you are affecting the environment and society more than your average person, which means that your impact and responsibility is also greater than your average person.

In short, you will make much more money than your average person, so your impact will be and should be greater than your average person.

Keep in mind that we all impact our society and our planet much more than we might think. So start or operate your business, build a good life along the way, make as much money as you possibly can, but please please please do it in the most responsible way humanly possible.

For insights on building brand loyalty and cultivating timeless relationships with your audience, check out my past article: How John Deere Built Timeless Loyalty Through Its Green Legacy.

For further information about leaving a legacy, read: How High Standards, Integrity, and Reliability Build Authority for Your Business.

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If you have any questions or want to talk through some of these marketing ideas or get help creating them, reach out to me any time at: David@crosscopywriting.com

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For a practical guide to promote Traditional American Values: 20 Ways to Infuse Your Marketing with Strong Work Ethics and Traditional American Values download the guide HERE.