Ashley Anderson

Professor. Hendrix-Sloan
Criminology 300
June 9, 2014

The Corporation
Criminal behavior sweeps the nation, from drug dealers, and street thieves, to
white and blue-collar criminals, to the highest of all, Corporations. Corporations are
separate legal entitys able to conduct business for profit, or not-for-profit. They have
more power and regulation over their employees, as well as deceiving the publics
interest. Many are known as the great white shark, with one sole objective: to make the
most profits possible. Whether that is by following the rules, or engaging in criminal
behaviors, they seem to do whichever adds more money to their pockets.
Considering some intentions may be beneficial to society, by helping produce the
needed resources we have today, many of these companies are failing to identify their
intended repercussions. For example: Nike sells shoes, everyone in our country needs
shoe, as they protect our feet and give us a professional look. Most are reasonably priced
and easily obtainable. But does anyone think to look on the tag of that shoe, to see where
it had been manufactured? Little do most people know, that those shoes assembled in
Indonesia, and sold by Nike, were made in 6.6 minutes by employees who were paid 70
cents an hour. Phil Knight, founder and CEO of Nike Inc. has never thought to mention
this as it would cause bad publicity. The fact that he has never been there, nor seen his

factories in production, gives the impression that he is well aware of the immoral scandal
within his product. In order for Phil to make a profit, he doesnt pay the producers what
they rightfully deserve, and when the price for wages starts to go up, the company finds a
poorer country nearby. Not only does Nike promote the use of sweatshops, but many
others as well. Even though this would seem to be the least of our worries here in the
United States, it is just the start.
Although we see human relations trying to create this positive image for its
consumers, it blinds us from seeing how their goals are truly obtained. Corporations have
an equal amount of harm as they do benefit for our society. Pollution, synthetic
chemicals, and toxic waste are just a few personal harms companies inflict. That weed
killer you purchased, yeah it works great, and leaves no visible residue. However, that
toxic chemical you keep applying around your home every week, its killing you that
much quicker. These corporate kings are knowingly producing and distributing chemicals
that cause harm to society. It may not affect us now, but 40 years down the road, when we
begin to develop cancer, than it will become clearer. We are currently in a cancer
epidemic. One out of every two men will acquire cancer in their lifetimes, and one out of
every three woman will as well. As more corporations start to pop up, so will the decline
of our population. There are countries that are being overwhelmed with the acceleration
of factories, producing toxic amounts of pollution on a daily rate. Countries are becoming
uninhabitable by humans and almost all animal species. The Co2 emissions and nuclear
waste are damaging our biosphere at a rapid pace. Animals are being used for
experimentation, creating factory farming and habitat destruction. Employees are being
laid off, with a rise in union busting, factory fires, and sweatshops. No matter who the

company is or how big the corporation gets, nothing is fully sustainable. There are
externalities to every given form of production or useable commodity, and everyone as
well as everything we value in this world is affected.
Not only do we see the social and personal harms, but also the deception of
corporations shareholders. These people are going above their duties, superseding the
governments rulings. Wells Fargo, Walmart, and Exon are just a few examples of
companies who broke the law, and traded with countries that were forbidden by our own
government. When these corporations take matters into their own hands, they lose trust
within the company, as well as its customers. IBM, a technology and consulting
corporation, lent their equipment to Adolf Hitler for the purpose of printing their
prisoners punch cards. This meant that someone from IBM had to go out to the
concentration camps to service the machines once a month. This corporation knew
exactly what was happening on those sights, and yet the CEO continued with the
business, blinded by greed. This can only state what major companies will do to get their
hands on more profit, which is almost anything.
I believe the best way to deal with the criminality of corporations is to give more
control back to the people. Too many companies are privately owning the land mass and
production of our resources. We as a society will soon be controlled by all corporations.
The economy might be getting better and creating more jobs, but in the end, were the
ones stuck in communities paying ridiculous prices for simple products. Farmers are
losing land to factories who pollute the air, small businesses are closing their doors, and
the economies revenue goes into the pockets of shareholders and CEOs, instead of the
people. We need to restrict the amount of companies in a given area, pass laws stating a

production specifics. Otherwise we might as well move to a land fill, because one day,
that will be our new home. If we cant regulate our industrialized country, we wont have
any more resources to create corporations products. We wont have fresh water, green
grass, or breathable air. Everything will diminish, and all that money those companies
were so eager to make, in the end will be worth nothing.