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"Corporations are just in business to make money. If consumers want a given product we produce it. So, if you want to change corporate behavior, change what consumers buy and corporations will change accordingly. The marketplace, after all, is a democratic representation of what people want to do with their money, and it's far more responsive to the wants of the population than governments have ever been." So, at least, say those who seek to blame the ecological crisis solely on the rest of us.

There are two fallacies in this reasoning:

Markets respond to whoever has the cash. But money is unequally distributed. A mere 16 percent of the world's population purchases 80 percent of the world's material. So most of the peoples of the world are left out of the vote when it's one dollar one vote. Even in democratic, industrialized societies, money is concentrated in the wealthiest 30 percent of the population. Their disposable income (over and above food and clothing and shelter) is far more than the disposable income (often none) of those in the poorest 50 percent of income earners. So the market reflects the desires of those with the most money to spend.

Choices of consumption are made within the context of a social order whose basic framework has been disproportionately shaped by corporate power. When General Motors bought up existing rail systems in Los Angeles and dismantled them in the middle of the twentieth century, it ensured that people who wished to get to their jobs would have to buy automobiles. Gas and auto industries spent enormous amounts of money encouraging legislatures to build more superhighways rather than to provide urban reconstruction that would allow people to live close to where they work. If the only house you can afford is very far from the only work you can get, and there is no public transportation, the choice to use a car is not a moral failing but an economic necessity. Keep this in mind even when discussing... "voluntary simplicity" -- it's only possible if combined with other systemic changes.

Greed Is a Disease of Fear

Some readers may continue to object, "you try to place all the blame for environmental destruction on corporate behavior, but you fail to acknowledge that it's the greed of the consumers that is at the bottom of it all."

Well, greed is real all right. But greed is a disease of fear.

To the extent that we have come to believe we can't count on others, we tend to protect ourselves as much as possible by accumulating material goods, money, power, sexual conquests, or something tangible.

Nor is this entirely irrational.

In times of crisis, people have historically pulled together, delaying their personal gratification for the common good. To do that, people need to trust that others will do the same. But what if you live in a society in which corporations pour poisons into food, air, and water because doing so ensures a high level of profits? What if you live in a society in which most people have come to believe that everyone else is going to rip them off unless they do the ripping-off first?

In such a society, urging people to reduce their level of consumption in order to protect people in other parts of the world is whistling in the wind. People will be unwilling to make those choices if they believe they will be the only jerks who pursued a selfless agenda. That's why, even though most people agree with ecologically oriented parties like the Greens or the New Party, they don't vote for those candidates. They are convinced that everyone else will vote according to selfish interests and that they'd better do that as well.

Ecological programs can never succeed unless ordinary citizens are willing to face a reduction in the level of consumption, are willing to pay higher prices for nonreplaceable energy sources, and are willing to support programs for international planning on how to use the world's remaining resources.

Similarly, when asked to support programs that constrain corporate selfishness, many people are reluctant to impose on others an ethos that they don't believe they can follow in their own lives. In my view, the quality of people's lives can dramatically improve if we revamp our whole system for ecologically sustainable production and consumption. But most people mistakenly believe that to be ecological will require immense hardships, and they interpret environmentalism as a demand that they stop using their computers, stop enjoying beautiful furniture, and stop wishing for comfortable homes. Fearful that they must give up their VCRs and compact discs, their Web surfing and their networking, many sensitive people see themselves as "just as bad as the corporations," and thus feel very conflicted about constraining corporate power.

Ecologists often play into this dynamic, blaming ordinary people as the source of the problem. Instead of wagging accusatory fingers, those who wish to transform America need to preach an ethos of compassion -- helping people understand that their underlying fears are rational, yet can be overcome. That, of course, is precisely what the rising spiritual energies are all about: legitimating a new way of thinking about our own lives and about the economy.

As we become increasingly aware of the Unity of All Being, we become increasingly connected to the well-being of every human being on the planet and less able to close our eyes when corporations dump toxic wastes in the Third World or when the environmental consequences of past injustices fall disproportionately on others. This same consciousness makes us feel personally involved and hurt when species die out, rain forests are destroyed, natural habitats are undermined, and acres of wilderness are turned into shopping malls. And as we develop our sense of awe and wonder at the universe, we become increasingly unable to view the world as anything more than a disposable "resource" to be used for human consumption and discarded. It is this sense of the miraculous and the sacred that will eventually provide the foundation for saving the planet. Spirit Matters.

Aren't Corporations Recognizing These Problems and Becoming Environmentally Conscious?

Some corporations are environmentally sensitive. Others are taking steps in this direction, if for no other reason than because they imagine that a percentage of their potential consumers will be more interested in them if they show environmental awareness. So, there are environmentally sensitive programs in many corporations. In some there are even attempts to take environmental issues into account when making fundamental investment decisions.

But it's amazing how few these are.

And the reason is simple: corporations are set up to make money, and the corporate boards will honestly explain that they have a "fiduciary responsibility" to their investors to make as much money as possible. They will tell heartrending stories of little old widows who have invested in the corporation and who would be left destitute should corporate profits go down for the sake of ecological responsibility.

The simple reality is that the bottom line for most corporations is maximizing profits, and corporate leadership that failed to do so would quickly be booted out.

So, when someone tells you there's a new spirit of corporate responsibility, ethical awareness, or ecological sensitivity, be sure to ask one question: "What is their bottom line when it comes to corporate decision making?" Similarly, when you hear that corporations are considering double or triple bottom lines that include ecological or moral considerations, ask again: "What happens when the corporation recognizes that it can make more profit in the next twenty to thirty years following Path X but that Path Y will be more environmentally sensitive or ethically congruent with the values of love, caring, and community?"

If you ask these questions seriously, you'll find out that much of what appears to be changing in corporations has more to do with hype and marketing than it does with a fundamental change in values.

There are important exceptions to this reality. There are many corporations that do seek to be environmentally sensitive, and others that are actively engaged in selling products that might actually help offset the negative environmental degradation that I've described. Those corporations deserve our support and encouragement.

This article is excerpted from the book Spirit Matters, ? 2000, by Michael Lerner. Reprinted with permission of Walsch Books, an imprint of Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc. www.hrpub.com.

For more info or to order this book.

This article was excerpted from:

Spirit Matters
by Michael Lerner
For more info or to order this book.

About The Author

Michael Lerner is editor of TIKKUN magazine (http://www.tikkun.org), rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in San Francisco, and author of The Politics of Meaning : Restoring Hope and Possibility in an Age of Cynicism and Jewish Renewal : A Path to Healing and Transformation. He is also the author of Choices in Healing : Integrating the Best of Conventional and Complementary Approaches to Cancer and Jews & Blacks : A Dialogue on Race, Religion, and Culture in America.

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