When one thinks of a corporation, the words “altruistic” and “generous” usually don’t spring to mind. But Google is showing that corporate responsibility isn’t just something that people learn about in business school, but something companies can still aspire to while meeting the capitalist mantra of “make as much money as possible.”
According to an article in the Sept. 14 issue of the New York Times, the founders of the popular search engine have recently given seed money to a philanthropic organization with a “mandate to tackle poverty, disease and global warming.” The organization will be for-profit, an unusual combination, with the goal of “funding start-up companies, form[ing] partnerships with venture capitalists and lobby[ing] Congress.”
This new move is something that has been sorely lacking during the 20th century and well into this one. Employees are severely underpaid, health insurance is reserved for those who work for a company for an extended period of time and the mere concept of retirement is laughable. So many people are worrying about making ends meet that the idea of having a “cushion” for the future is absolutely absurd.
These conditions are ideal compared to the horrendous labor conditions of the early 20th century, where young children working wasn’t uncommon and a serious physical injury incurred on the job was something to be expected and rewarded with the loss of a job.
Now, among their many charitable efforts, Google is collaborating with a league of scientists to create a hybrid car whose gas mileage surpasses 100 miles per gallon in order to relieve our oil dependence and lessen the effects of global warming.
This sudden surge of altruism comes amid a recent controversy the search engine faced about expanding its services into China. The founders of the company believed they should provide their services in China despite the heavy censorship the Chinese government would employ, omitting from the potential audience certain Web entries that could be threatening to the Chinese government. Their argument: Some information is better than none.
Others argued that Google should forego potential profits and protest the oppressive, limiting government and make no deals with it. As is almost always true of a capitalist company, money spoke louder than morality and Google began offering its services in China, editing such subjects as teen pregnancy, homosexuality, dating, beer and jokes, according to an article at CNET news.
So, maybe the recent billion-dollar donation isn’t really a seed for progress, but a public relations campaign to win back customers lost since the controversy with China. There has been enough time that has elapsed since the initial questions were raised about the morality of expanding into China that the new philanthropic efforts allows the company to be far enough removed from the scandal for people to not associate their actions with an effort to regain lost ground.
Regardless of whether or not Google just wants more users, its actions are certainly commendable and deserve respect, especially because capitalistic ideals are clouding some corporate bosses’ moral compasses.