In an era where corporations trample across the globe with minimal restraint, and citizen movements around the world are on their heels, it is natural -- and necessary -- for those trying to check corporate power to think defensively and, when they do reflect on affirmative proposals, incrementally.
Sometimes, it is important to think big.
In an era where corporations trample across the globe with
minimal restraint, and citizen movements around the world
are on their heels, it is natural -- and necessary -- for
those trying to check corporate power to think defensively
and, when they do reflect on affirmative proposals,
incrementally.
But it is important not to be overly constrained by the
existing balance of forces. If they are to engage, energize
and mobilize large numbers of people, citizen movements need
to be animated by positive visions, as well. And while there
is a role for utopian outlines in suggesting what society
could be, even more important are concrete medium-term
proposals that suggest attainable aspirations and purposeful
direction.
One would not ordinarily look to the U.S. Congress for such
ideas, but two members of the U.S. House of Representatives
have stepped forward to offer sweeping proposals to regulate
U.S.-based multinational corporations' global operations and
to reorient the global economy to the pursuit of sustainable
development, not corporate greed.
Representative Cynthia McKinney, D-Georgia, has introduced
the Corporate Code of Conduct Act (H.R. 4596) and
Representative Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont,
has introduced the Global Sustainable Development Resolution
(H.Res 479). (You can find the bills at
http://thomas.loc.gov.)
"It is time we reclaim the global economy for the people who
make it work," insists McKinney, "and stop pandering to
corporate interests who build their empires on the backs of
the innocent."
"Corporate globalization is forcing men and women around
the world to run a destructive race to the bottom -- a
competition in which workers, communities and entire
countries are forced to cut wages, environmental
protections, and social programs to attract footloose
capital," says Sanders.
To address these ills, McKinney's bill would require all
U.S.-based corporations with more than 20 employees abroad
to enact a code of conduct. Significantly, the code also
would apply to the companies' subsidiaries, subcontractors,
affiliates, joint ventures, partners, or licensees --
meaning companies like Nike would not be able to disdain
responsibility for the practices of their subcontractors.
The code would establish a floor for corporate behavior,
requiring companies in their overseas operations to: