Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- 1 Introduction: creating a just and sustainable economy
- Part I Creating a new economic framework
- Part II The civic option
- Part III A civic view of labor, land, and money
- Part IV Civilizing economic systems
- Part V A civic agenda
- 16 The civic obligations of corporations
- 17 Creating circumstances for civic conversations
- Appendix: Free enterprise and the economics of slavery
- Bibliography
- Index
16 - The civic obligations of corporations
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- 1 Introduction: creating a just and sustainable economy
- Part I Creating a new economic framework
- Part II The civic option
- Part III A civic view of labor, land, and money
- Part IV Civilizing economic systems
- Part V A civic agenda
- 16 The civic obligations of corporations
- 17 Creating circumstances for civic conversations
- Appendix: Free enterprise and the economics of slavery
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Our civic agenda is quite simple to imagine: We want to organize systems of provision so all communities and families have access to what they need and value. Some of these needs are universal, such as a viable natural and social environment. Some are basic, such as food, shelter, security, and meaning. Others are necessary to participate in the current economy, such as work, credit, and transportation. And others are more contingent, such as entertainment or luxuries. In most cases, making these provisions available will include the services of multinational corporations.
At first glance, one may wonder if there is a place in a civic economics of provision for corporations, as we know them today. Here we need to make a distinction between theory and reality. In reality, a civic economics of provision does not eliminate free enterprise. It just puts it on a civic platform and places it within larger systems of provision. So what remains “free” or “private” once these changes are made? Actually, not that much has changed, at least for most businesses. Citizens will still own businesses, as before. Businesses will still need a license to operate and will have to abide by city ordinances as before. Owners will still be enterprising in improving their standard of living, as before. Entrepreneurs will still develop new products and services in response to consumer preferences as before. The actual practice of running a business, in other words, will not really be all that different.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Civilizing the EconomyA New Economics of Provision, pp. 209 - 221Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010