Philanthropy from a large corporation or rich individual may be a form of penance for righting all the wrongs done. Make a payment to a needy organization and all the wrongs of the past year are forgiven. The greater the giving the greater the guilt!

Andrew Carnegie comes to mind among a long list of others. With wealth comes power and a different set of ethos from the rest of the world. You make your own rules.

I like Nietzsche's philosophy and his Oberman Theory. We look at Nietzsche’s comments about society and laws for example. I will paraphrase as best I can – “Laws are made by the weak to protect them from the powerful”. Also, "Good is a synonym of weakness".

If a rich person or corporation contributes nothing to society then it is at moral ease. It surely has not violated any social or written laws. Therefore it should not pay as it has not violated any mores. Call that my theory! :)

Also feeling that you are good allows you to keep all your wealth. After all, you can never have too much. In fact you had better have more by the next quarter!




>Maybe not their slogan, but certainly their deeds:
>
>http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/pagana/mg312/carroll.html
>
>It's an interesting essay...
>
>>>I stand firmly by my position that **ALL** humanity, in **EVERY** endeavour, is **EXPECTED** to put morality/ethics at the very **TOP** of their agenda. It doesn't matter if it is a corporate decision or a personal decision. Business has NOT been conferred special rights or privileges in society as regards ethics.
>>
>>Hi Jim,
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>>Can you point me to a for-profit company whose motto or slogan talks about ethics or morality?