POL3489W: Citizens, Consumers, and Corporations

Corporations are the most powerful actors in the global political economy. They employ millions of people, produce a wide variety of goods, and have massive effects on the communities where they do business. Although considered to be "legal persons," corporations are not living beings with a conscience. Milton Friedman famously proclaimed that the only moral obligation of corporations is the maximize shareholder returns. Yet maximizing financial returns may negatively affect humans, other living beings, and the planet. This potential conflict between profit and ethics is at the heart of this course, which focuses on how people have mobilized as citizens and consumers to demand ethical behavior from corporations. We will explore these different modes of action through an examination of corporate social responsibility for sweatshops, the industrial food system in the United States, and the privatization of life, water, and war. The course also considers how corporations exploit racial hierarchies and immigration status in their pursuit of profit.

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