Multinational Corporations (MNCs)
Multinational Corporations are frequently accused of polluting the environment, of running sweatshop in Third World countries, of exploiting these countries, and of putting profits ahead of people.
One ought to begin by distinguishing between the Marxian critique of all multinational corporations, because they are part of international and world capitalism, as inherently bad and evil, and the more reasonable (and responsible) critique that say that multinational corporations, Likes all human institutions, sometimes, make mistakes, are self-serving, sometimes try to cheat or skirt the law, then try to cover up these mistakes, and , in general, act in their own self interest. The Marxian critique is a minority one, except perhaps on some college campuses and among some, radical groups of protestors; "true believers " of this position are usually immune from rational, reasoned persuasion to any other point-of-view because, for them , Marxism is like a religious faith that is not subject to empirical verification. Here we focus on the more reasonable critique that is subject to the marshaling of evidence and, hence, a more balanced view.
Let us face facts: MNCs do muck around in the internal affair of other nations ( less now than is earlier eras), do have profit as their primary motive ( that, after all, is why they are in business), and do sometimes ( but now rarely) engage in nefarious, illegal activities. But let us balance this view with the facts that (1) most MNCs try, in their own interests, to be Good Neighbors in the countries Where they may locate; (2) the MNCs generally provide higher salaries and better benefits than do local firms, and often housing, health care, and meal to their workers; (3) fearing the consequences (nationalization of their properties), most MNCs scrupulously obey the laws of their host countries and try to accommodate to local norms (which may also involve payoffs and bribery, but then, "everybody does it"); and (4) most importantly, the MNCs provides sorely needed investment, jobs, and a stimulus to the economy which almost all Third World countries are desperate to receive.