Ecological Sustainabilty

Social Responsibility Amendment

by

Ed O’Rourke

Rabbi Michael Lerner in Left Hand of God: Taking Back our Country From The Religious Right, pages 284-285, calls for a social responsibility amendment to the US Constitution, which reads:

“Every corporation with income above $50 million a year must apply for a new corporate charter once every ten years, and the new charter will be granted only to corporations that can prove a satisfactory history of social responsibility to a jury of ordinary citizens. No branch of government shall make any treaties or enter into international agreements that limit the right of the United States to insist on corporate social responsibility of any firm that operates or sells goods within the boundaries of the United States and any territory under functional jurisdiction of the United States or its military. Any such treaties already concluded, or and part of the Constitution that cannot be reconciled with this amendment, or any national or state legislation that has the effect of protecting companies or corporations from ethical and ecological responsibility is hereby considered null and void.”

Products sold in the US would have something like a Material Safety Data Sheet describing the toxic or harmful ingredients and their health effects. If a product or ingredient is illegal to sell in the US, it should be illegal to sell in another country or allow our armed forces to use it anywhere. Manufacturers and retailers do not know all the ingredients in their products. Currently, the carcinogen benzene, which is banned for use as a solvent in the US, can be imported in rubber parts from countries that have not outlawed its use.

A logical step before or after the adoption of the amendment would be to withdraw from the World Trade Association and start over with a new organization that would set minimum standards for working conditions, workers rights to form unions and environmental considerations. Establish a boycott on the worst regimes that deserve to fall. This will take time and persistence as it did in South Africa.

A follow-up is the establishment of an international treaty establishing minimum standards for working conditions, union organizing, minimum wages, air emissions, wastes and operations.

In 1866, the US Supreme Court declared in Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad that a corporation is natural person under the Constitution, even thought the Constitution makes no reference to a corporation. Later court decisions held that corporations have the full protection of the Bill of Rights. National legislation or a reworded social responsibility amendment should overturn this Supreme Court decision. One political reform would be to outlaw any political contribution by a corporation or similar organization such as a labor union.

There should be a cap on officers’ compensation. The most any corporate officer should be able to earn should be 50 times that of the average of the employee. This may require restructuring many executive jobs or divesting major parts of the company.

These measures will help ensure that corporations serve people, not the other way around.

Ed O’Rourke is an environmental accountant in Houston, Texas.
713-664-4343
eorourke@pdq.net