Chapter 11

This chapter was definitely interesting to read.  Call it personal political differences or what ever you want but I still have a hard time agreeing with the idea that the general public can in good faith expect any kind of philanthropic contributions from local businesses or corporations.  Living in America means living under a capitalist government, something that I just had to explain to my 15 year old brother in high school for a final exam.  That means that we are the product of a pro business economy, where you are encouraged to make as much money as possible.

A perfect symbol of Capitalism, Mr. Monopoly

As I pointed out in chapter 2, Rockefeller was mercilessly crucified for his buisness endeavors, even though he is the real start of big business charitable donations.  It seems funny that so many people, even today, are willing to comment on what a horrible person he was, and how unethical he was for taking advantage of so many people.  Although, his legacy lives on today throughout chapter 11.  The whole concept that businesses should support their local communities started with him.  Now over 200 years later what he set out is now the expected behavior.

While Seitel discusses what a community can expect from a business or corporation, I could not help but shake my head in disagreement.  True a local population should be able to demand a number of jobs from a business, and I certainly hope that they can take a sense of pride from that business, but I still can not agree that you can expect a donation.  The whole point of charity is that it is done out of the goodness of one’s heart.  In today’s economy, the government offers many tax cuts to organizations that give back to the community just as they do for individuals that donate their hard earned money.  However, that does not mean that it is required.  The whole object of private business is that it is just that, private.  The general public has no say in how a company should be using their profits.  I do agree that charity is a good thing, and for big business that is turning a profit like McDonalds or Apple, I think that they should donate money, but if they did not donate their money to charities, then I would have no right to demand a donation.  The government can demand taxes from individuals or businesses, but that is because it is a law.  There are no laws that demand philanthropic donations, it is just a good way to harbor good publicity from a public.