I think it's even broader than that. An entire corporate philosophy has arisen that insists that mindlessly searching for profits and shareholder value over eve

I think it's even broader than that. An entire corporate philosophy has arisen that insists that mindlessly searching for profits and shareholder value over everything else will actually be better for everyone, employees and public included. This insulates them from criticism by insinuating that maximizing profits and shareholder value is a moral imperative - if you're against them then you're against the mutual uplifting of everyone through corporate benevolence. It turns out, however, that it's really just better for the execs, who conveniently just so happen to also have their compensation tied to the share price.