Corporate social responsibility: a case of hegemony and counter-hegemony

Abstract

INTRODUCTION One general observation is shared among scholars of the global political economy regardless of their disciplinary, analytic, or ideological inclinations. Namely, that corporate global rule is already here. Positive evidence abounds. Multinational corporations (MNCs) dominate the global economy, accounting for two-thirds of global trade in goods and services. Of the one hundred largest world economies, fifty-one are corporations. The top two hundred corporations generate 27.5 percent of the world gross domestic product and their combined annual revenues are greater than those of the 182 states that contain 80 percent of the world population. The combined sales of four of the largest corporations in the world exceed the gross domestic product of the whole of Africa (Chomsky 2002; Davidsson 2002; Ellwood 2002). Economic figures tell only part of the story. As a result of their vast wealth, MNCs have accumulated significant political and cultural powers as well. Economic globalization and trade liberalization have given them powers that match and often surpass that of national governments. In rich and poor countries alike, albeit in different ways, MNCs often enjoy decisive powers to shape public policy, to encourage or bar legislative measures, to promote or discourage social reforms, and to influence governmental action in key areas including employment, the environment, and social and civil rights. As corporations emerge as global private authorities, and as governments undergo structural adjustments, “we are back to the independent realm of economic action as a major locus of political power” (Beck, Giddens, and Lash 1994).

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