3 ms·

If people vote with their wallets, their ethics directly correlate to the company's profit. A useful feedback loop, to be sure :-)

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
ashark 11y ago
People don't really vote with their wallets over ethics, though. It'd take an enormous amount of effort to keep up with all the bad things various corporations do, or even just to keep track of which ones have been in the news for nasty behavior. Even people who take time to consider the possibility of attempting to spend ethically are faced with the discouraging reality that 1) they'll still end up accidentally spending a lot of money with unethical companies, since even with a great investment of time their information will only be slightly better than someone who takes no notice of these things, and 2) it will have no effect anyway unless a bunch of other people do it too, meaning tons of lost time and likely a great deal of lost money to accomplish nothing at all. Even with a publicity effort for an organized boycott (more time, more money, spent by someone) you're still just hoping that enough people will make bad individual decisions so that the decisions become good ones (i.e. they do more than just harming the people making them). Most people don't even get that far. With everything else going on, "think seriously about how to spend in such a way as to maybe (but probably not) affect corporate behavior so that it becomes more ethical" drops down the priority list... and down... and right off the bottom. Doesn't mean their spending reflects actual support for corporate douchbaggery, though.
- walterbell 11y ago
  Counterpoint: Chipotle's successful brand strategy, http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottdavis/2014/06/06/beyond-the-burrito-chipotles-next-big-move/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottdavis/2014/06/06/beyond-the...

3 ms·

If people vote with their wallets, their ethics directly correlate to the company's profit. A useful feedback loop, to be sure :-)

by scott_karana 11y ago

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
ashark 11y ago
People don't really vote with their wallets over ethics, though. It'd take an enormous amount of effort to keep up with all the bad things various corporations do, or even just to keep track of which ones have been in the news for nasty behavior. Even people who take time to consider the possibility of attempting to spend ethically are faced with the discouraging reality that 1) they'll still end up accidentally spending a lot of money with unethical companies, since even with a great investment of time their information will only be slightly better than someone who takes no notice of these things, and 2) it will have no effect anyway unless a bunch of other people do it too, meaning tons of lost time and likely a great deal of lost money to accomplish nothing at all. Even with a publicity effort for an organized boycott (more time, more money, spent by someone) you're still just hoping that enough people will make bad individual decisions so that the decisions become good ones (i.e. they do more than just harming the people making them). Most people don't even get that far. With everything else going on, "think seriously about how to spend in such a way as to maybe (but probably not) affect corporate behavior so that it becomes more ethical" drops down the priority list... and down... and right off the bottom. Doesn't mean their spending reflects actual support for corporate douchbaggery, though.
- walterbell 11y ago
  Counterpoint: Chipotle's successful brand strategy, http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottdavis/2014/06/06/beyond-the-burrito-chipotles-next-big-move/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottdavis/2014/06/06/beyond-the...