&gt;You mean, if I want the big companies to do good (or &quot;not do evil&quot;) I have to pay up to them?<p>It means you need to align incentives.  Those can be positive (tax breaks for hiring veterans) or negative (penalties for violating antitrust laws), but they are incentives nonetheless.<p>&gt;So they should already have an incentive to do good to those societies- they will personally benefit from that good-doing.<p>Do you, individually, benefit more from living in a society where mining companies don&#x27;t dump toxic chemicals in rivers in third world countries, or from making your quarterly bonuses?  This is a classic tragedy of the commons.<p>&gt;Why do they need me, or anyone else, to provide that incentive?<p>Because companies are amoral profit-maximization constructs.<p>&gt;&quot;Companies&quot; are not &quot;amoral entities&quot;, neither are nations.<p>There are many corporations and politicians who are more than happy to indulge that fantasy in exchange for your money or vote.<p>You can rant and rave about evil corporations till you&#x27;re blue in the face, and you won&#x27;t change a damned thing.  Corporations respond to incentives, not moral pleas.  Change the incentives if you want to change the behaviour.