Multinational Corporations and the Ethics of Global Responsibility: Problems and Possibilities

Multinational corporations (MNCs) have provoked considerable debate about the issues of "efficiency" and "social justice." The simultaneous surge in economic growth and inequality has led to serious implications for economic rights in developing countries. Using a rights-based pe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Human rights quarterly 2003-11, Vol.25 (4), p.965-989
Main Authors: Monshipouri, Mahmood, Welch, Claude E., Kennedy, Evan T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Business structures
Capitalism
Civil law
Corporate responsibility
Corporations
Developing countries
Economic growth
Ethical codes
Ethics
Global corporations
Global economy
Globalization
Government Regulation
Human Rights
Inequality
International business enterprises
International cooperation
Justice
Labor conditions
Labor sector
Law
LDCs
Litigation
Mass media
Multinational Corporations
Multinational enterprises
Neoliberalism
Nongovernmental organizations
Responsibility
Social aspects
Social justice
Social Responsibility
Treaties
Working conditions
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Summary:Multinational corporations (MNCs) have provoked considerable debate about the issues of "efficiency" and "social justice." The simultaneous surge in economic growth and inequality has led to serious implications for economic rights in developing countries. Using a rights-based perspective, we argue that in the human rights area the responsible party is generally the state. In the context of neoliberal globalization, however, the wrongdoers are often corporations. Reliance on state duties alone may not be sufficient to broadly protect human rights. Certain corporate behaviors are detrimental to internationally recognized norms of human rights. Although private actions, media exposure, and lawsuits based on civil law appear to be the only practical way to put the pressure on MNCs, it is important to examine the possibility of an outside governing body to hold in check unfettered global capitalism and to bring accountability to MNCs' policies that are socially detrimental.
ISSN:0275-0392
1085-794X
1085-794X
DOI:10.1353/hrq.2003.0048