For those who strongly defend neoliberal values, the economic benefits and opportunities that companies and corporations provide overcompensate any negative externality. Moreover, some of these externalities cannot be pinned the corporations, but on the governments that allow them to exist in the first place. Politicians are always to blame. Furthermore, the negative externalities may not be negative in the first place. These arguments have been used repeatedly if one mentions corporate social responsibility. Let us consider the following case, a certain textile corporation which operates in a South-East Asia country is accused of causing severe environmental damage and exploit its workers by imposing harsh work conditions, long schedules, and below minimal wage. Where does the responsibility lie? On the company? Or on the government, for allowing the company to impose such harsh conditions and cause the environmental damage? If local legislation would be stricter, corporations and companies would not perform their activities in such ways. We must also consider that the local population could hardly aim for anything better. That is the way it is. Corporations bring jobs, and therefore, means to live. Corporations bring prosperity. The alternative to precarious jobs, poorly paid, and with low security standards (it comes to mind the Plaza Rana Savar fire in Bangladesh) is the almost complete absence of jobs, and therefore misery. Of course, these arguments are all flawed. Generally, we should always avoid populist arguments. Responsibility is such issues is a complex topic, and it usually involves multiple social actors, whose aggregate actions lead to the wrongful outcome. The fact that a certain government allows for a lax legislation does not exculpate those who abuse it. Furthermore, we must consider the pressure that certain corporations hold to block reform attempts. By imposing work conditions that do not respect human dignity, nor socio-economic rights—even though it is a better alternative to unemployment—there is a risk of promoting such standards endemically and impeding further improvement. Sometimes, corporations bring profit to nobody but themselves. E. K. Hunt coined the term invisible foot to refer to the phenomenon by which economic actors tend to privatize gain and socialize the costs. Companies increase private profit, while creating negative externalities of which they do not bear the cost, charging them on the society. There is no other way out: Corporations should take responsibility for their actions if sustainable development, wealth, growth and most important human dignity are to be achieved.
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