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Anti-corporate activism refers to the idea of activism that is directed against the private sector, and specifically against larger corporations. It stems from the idea that the activities and impacts of
big business Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...
are detrimental to the public good and
democratic process Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choose gover ...
, and is often a tool to reframe corporate activities in the public eye.


Disagreements with corporations

Activists Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
argue that corporate globalization has caused a displacement in the shift from an industrial economy to one where international trade and globalization has spurred financial deregulation. As an increasing number of economies have embraced a
free-market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
approach, regulation has been rolled back and corporations have grown in power and autonomy. Opponents of corporate globalization believe that the government needs greater powers to control the market, that income inequality is rising, and that corporations have gained too much power. Typically coming from the
political left Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
, activists against
corporate power In social science and economics, corporate capitalism is a capitalist marketplace characterized by the dominance of hierarchical and bureaucratic corporations. Overview A large proportion of the economy of the United States and its labour marke ...
and influence advocate for a reduced income gap and improved economical equity. Large multinational corporations also attempt to erode governmental regulations through in-house or contracted lobbyists who work closely with legislators around the world. So, activists argue, as corporate laws continue to lean in their favor, corporate members have improved avenues to drive up company profits.


Counter-arguments

The defenders of corporations such as
Ron Arnold Ron Arnold (born August 8, 1937) is an American writer and activist. He has been the Executive Vice-President of the Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise since 1984. He writes frequently on natural resource issues and is an opponent of the ...
highlight that governments do legislate in ways that restrict the actions of corporations (see Sarbanes-Oxley Act) and that lawbreaking companies and executives are routinely caught and punished, usually in the form of monetary fines. Governments, if democratically elected, may be the most legitimate mechanism by which to guide and control corporate activities. In addition, from the perspective of business ethics it is argued that chief executives are not inherently more evil than anyone else and so are no more likely to attempt unethical or illegal activity than the general population.


Alliances

Anti-corporate activists often ally themselves with other activists, such as
environmental activist The environmental movement (sometimes referred to as the ecology movement), also including conservation and green politics, is a diverse philosophical, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues. Environmentalists advo ...
s or animal-rights activists in their condemnation of the practices of organizations such as the
McDonald's Corporation McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger s ...
(see McLibel) and forestry company Gunns Limited (see Gunns 20). In recent years, the number of books (Naomi Klein's 2000 ''
No Logo ''No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies'' is a book by the Canadian author Naomi Klein. First published by Knopf Canada and Picador in December 1999, shortly after the 1999 Seattle WTO protests had generated media attention around such issue ...
'' being a well-known example) and films on the subject has increased such as ''The Corporation'' which have to a certain extent supported anti-corporate politics.


Art activism

An artist critical of
sociopolitical Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how ...
agendas in business is conceptualist
Hans Haacke Hans Haacke (born August 12, 1936) is a Germany, German-born artist who lives and works in New York City. Haacke is considered a "leading exponent" of Institutional Critique. Early life Haacke was born in Cologne, Germany. He studied at the ''S ...
.


Anti-corporate web sites

In June 2008, Condé Nast Publications released an article entitled "The Secret Seven" which listed the top seven anti-corporate web sites. These included:
WikiLeaks WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...
,
Mini-Microsoft ''Mini-Microsoft'' is a blog that was maintained by an anonymous author who appeared to be a Microsoft employee. The site credited its sole author as "Who da'Punk", but many readers referred to him as "Mini" or "Mini-Microsoft". The nominal goal of ...
,
Wal-Mart Watch Walmart Watch, formed in the spring of 2005, is a joint project of the Center for Community and Corporate Ethics, a nonprofit organization studying the impact of large corporations on society and its advocacy arm, Five Stones. The Walmart Watch g ...

HomeOwners for Better Building
Brenda Priddy and Company (automotive spy photos) and finally Apple Rumor Sites AppleInsider and
MacRumors MacRumors.com is a website that aggregates Mac and Apple-related news and rumors. The site launched on February 24, 2000, in Richmond, Virginia, and is owned by Arnold Kim. By consolidating reports and cross-referencing claims, MacRumors aims to ...
. In 2020, a group called "Save our Elders from Corporate Abuse" was formed on Facebook. The page was designed to report and expose banks, trust companies, brokerage firms, and other businesses that contractually obligate or otherwise trap senior citizens, particularly those over the age of 80, into predatory loans, perpetual billing for products, or other schemes intended to get money from them without their knowledge or consent.


New digital media

Media and digital networking have become important features of modern anti-corporate movements. The speed, flexibility, and ability to reach a massive potential audience has provided a technological foundation for a contemporary network social movement structure. As a result, communities and interpersonal connections have transformed - meaning that corporations can be challenged in novel ways. The
internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
supports and strengthens local ties, but also facilitates new patterns for political activity. Activists have used this medium to operate between both the online and offline political spectrum. Email lists, web pages, and open editing software have allowed for changes within an organization. Social media allows activism to be coordinated and scaled in previously unimaginable ways. Now, actions are planned, information is shared, documents are produced by multiple people, and all of this can be done despite differences in distance. This has led to increased growth in digital collaboration. Activists can presently build ties between diverse topics, open the distribution of information, decentralize and increase collaboration, and self-direct networks.


Rise of anti-corporate globalization

Close to fifty thousand people protested the WTO meetings in Seattle on November 30, 1999. Labor, economic, and environmental activists succeeded in disrupting and closing the meetings due to their disapproval of corporate globalization. This event became a symbol as anti-globalization networks emerged and became strengthened. The experiences from the protests were distributed throughout the internet via emails and websites. Anti-corporate globalization movements have also expanded through the organization of mass mobilizations, including the anti-WTO protests, which were remarkably successful. In the United States, these movements reemerged after less attention was given to the war in Iraq, resulting in an increase in mass mobilizations.


See also

* Anti-consumerism * Anti-globalization * Bernie Sanders *
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...
*
Corporatocracy Corporatocracy (, from corporate and el, -κρατία, translit=-kratía, lit=domination by; short form corpocracy) is an economic, political and judicial system controlled by corporations or corporate interests. The concept has been used ...
*
Evil corporation An evil corporation is a trope in popular culture that portrays a corporation as ignoring social responsibility, morality, ethics, and sometimes laws in order to make profit for its shareholders. In rare cases, the corporation may be well intenti ...
*
Lobbying in the United States Lobbying in the United States describes paid activity in which special interest groups hire well-connected professional advocates, often lawyers, to argue for specific legislation in decision-making bodies such as the United States Congress. I ...
* McLibel case *
Multinational Monitor The ''Multinational Monitor'' was a bimonthly magazine founded by Ralph Nader in 1980. It was published by Essential Information. The magazine was formerly published on a monthly basis. Although its primary focus was on analysis of corporations, ...
*
Occupy movement The Occupy movement was an international populist socio-political movement that expressed opposition to social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of "real democracy" around the world. It aimed primarily to advance social and econo ...
* POCLAD – The Program On Corporations, Law, and Democracy *
Public Citizen Public Citizen is a non-profit, Progressivism in the United States, progressive consumer rights advocacy group and think tank based in Washington, D.C., United States, with a branch in Austin, Texas, Austin, Texas. Lobbying efforts Public Citizen ...
*
Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the U ...
* Criticisms of corporations


References


External links


Farewell to the End of History: Organization and Vision in Anti-Corporate Movements
by
Naomi Klein Naomi A. Klein (born May 8, 1970) is a Canadian author, social activist, and filmmaker known for her political analyses, support of ecofeminism, organized labour, left-wing politics and criticism of corporate globalization, fascism, ecofascism ...
, ''
Socialist Register The ''Socialist Register'' is an annual socialist publication. It was founded in 1964 by Ralph Miliband and John Saville. They had criticisms of the ''New Left Review'' (''NLR'') after Perry Anderson became editor of the ''NLR'' in 1962. Miliband ...
'', 2002 {{Anarchism Corporate law Corporate crime