The Corporation

Understanding the Power of Corporations

People are organized in such a way that they understand some of their daily practices depending on what history has told them. For example, the word “corporation” conjures up images of boardrooms, billionaires, suit coats, stock exchanges, wealth, and abnormal earnings. Corporations account for approximately 17% of all American businesses. Corporations, on the other hand, reap close to 90% of all company earnings. It means that companies’ minority status would not exclude them from wielding economic influence in different countries. Because of the limited scope of corporate control, they are very intrusive and widespread in culture. In the book, “The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power” the author Joel Bakan asserts that “today corporations govern our lives. They determine what we eat, what we watch, what we wear, what we work, and what we do. We are inescapably surrounded by their culture, iconography, and ideology (Bakan 5).” Since the corporations possess such power, it is essential to understand their externalizing machine perspective on the society. When a person smokes the chemicals on the cigarette is imposed on people because they become passive smokers.

Pollution as an Externality

Just as business externalizes costs, so does the smoker when he does their deed without considering the implication on others. Pollution is one of the real-life scenarios that continue to pose a significant threat to the universe. Global warming is evidence that there is a need to manage the phenomenon. Pollution can be described as an externality. It is a result of an action by people. For instance, inappropriate waste management leads to the accumulation of plastics and other non-biodegradable materials in the oceans and landfills. Pollution can be equated to a person smoking a cigarette. The smoke from the cigarette will end up hurting others who do not engage in the habit (Biglan). Consequently, there are active and passive smokers. In this case, the passive smokers can be defined as the third party. The third party has not agreed to or contributed to the carrying out of deeds that pollute the environment. However, they are the ones who significantly suffer from the transaction. In this case, pollution can be soil, air, water, and sound depending on the circumstances. Bakan (61) states that “all the bad things that happen to people and the environment as a result of corporations’ relentless and legally compelled pursuit of self-interest are thus neatly categorized by economists as externalities-literally, other people’s problems.” Thus, people who promote pollution act on their self-interest rather than that of the society as a whole.

Cigarette Smoking as Externality

Cigarette smoking is an externality because, in the past, there were minimal cases of cigarette pollution. People respected nature and did all they could to ensure that there was a preservation of the environment. Similarly to corporations, the mentality of individuals has tremendously changed over the last century. People are becoming more self-centered. They engage in activities that benefit them, leaving others with the consequences. For instance, when a person smokes, they are directly and indirectly affecting others in the vicinity. Cigarettes contain various chemicals that possess a significant risk to the smoker and others (Biglan). It can be described as an act of deriving pleasure from a commodity without considering the implication it will have on others. The costs of cigarette smoking are externalized. The third party becomes a passive smoker and is affected by the cigarette butts disposed of in the environment. In this case, the smoker can be labeled as an externalizing machine who is only concerned with their welfare at the expense of others. Bakan (71) argues that “corporations have a dynamic that does not take into account the concerns of flesh-and-blood human people who form the world in which it exists.” Therefore, the smoker is potentially harmful to the society because they only take into account their concerns and leave others as passive smokers.

Addressing the Externality of Cigarette Smoking

To address the problem with this externality, relevant stakeholders such as cigarette producing firms and the government should come together with one objective. Cigarette producing corporations are centered on profitability at the expense of the lives of people and the society as a whole. The current legislation framework fails to acknowledge that the business environment should have a certain degree of morality. However, it is hard to impose moral obligations on corporations because they are not people. Although they have the rights and responsibilities such as humans, it is impossible to regulate their ethical activities. Bakan (82) states that “companies want to maintain their profit levels even as fields become less productive.” The government and other health stakeholders should create smoking zones with technologies that eradicate the chemical content of the cigarettes (Biglan). Moreover, smokers should be educated on the adverse effects of their habits. Alternatively, corporations should be heavily taxed with the objective of reducing their abnormal profits.

Mitigating Externalities and Focusing on Education

With the development and growth of social, economic, and technological aspects, externalities will continue to be part of day-to-day human activities. However, people need to be educated on the importance of ensuring that they mitigate the outcomes to a considerable level. Smoking is an externality that requires the contribution of all stakeholders to address adequately. Smoking is an action that originates from one party but ends up hurting third parties who did not contribute to the circumstance.

Works Cited

Bakan, Joel. The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power. New York: Constable & Robinson, 2012. Internet resource.

Biglan, Anthony. ”The role of advocacy organizations in reducing negative externalities.” Journal of Organizational Behavior Management 29.3-4 (2009).