Corporate Ethics in an Embodied World

I will be the first to admit that I am one of the many people who is frustrated with the notion that corporations are people too ... or specifically that they are entitled to many of the same rights without many of the same responsibilities.  At the same time I understand that if we value many of our freedoms specifically speech and assembly, then we should want to give some rights to corporations.  For that reason I wanted to try and approach things from a different angle ... what does a world look like if we actually did think of corporations as people.

It seems to me that one of the jarring aspects of this idea is that corporations are so clearly not people ... lacking a body for one thing, but also in terms of a values.  Corporations are artificial constructs with clear purposes.  Those purposes can be good "make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world" would be a corporate purpose I am a big fan of.  Often when we think of corporate purposes it comes closer to ... maximize shareholder value (make money) while providing some sort of service.  We tend to ascribe higher purposes to humanity than simply maximizing shareholder value (would that be parents?).

How does this get changed if corporations are people?  For one it might change how we act towards corporations.  I have been guilty of hating corporations (something I try to never do with individuals).  I do not see business as a collection of individuals struggling to make money, provide and service, and get on with their lives.  Instead I find easier to think of them as faceless entities chasing the almighty dollar and can ascribe all sorts of unfair/cynical motives to their actions.  If we think of corporations as people it might change our expectations for them and our compassion for them.  I would hope in turn it might change how shareholders and board members think of the actions of the corporation.  If corporations become embodied instead of disembodied maybe it will be easier for corporations to act like people ... ethically and for the greater good.

I know that some of this feels like wishful thinking ... but I don't wonder if the disembodied nature of corporations today in our collective perception is what makes it so much easier for them to be involved in terrible actions.  Corporate raiding takes on a whole new meaning.  Embezzlement also feels less like a victim-less crime.  Maximizing shareholder value can no longer be the soul purpose of a company ... any more than it is socially acceptable for people to live only for themselves with no concern for their neighbors.  What I think I am saying in all of this is ... maybe if we started treating corporations as people ... and ascribing humanity to them ... it might cause them to act more like people and with more humanity.  Just a thought