Forbes published an article on Branson last month, main point being - "Branson pledged all proceeds from Virgin Group's transportation divisions be donated to develop alternative fuel sources and alleviate global warming. His pledge amounts to about US$3 billion over ten years."

In typical Branson style, the announcement wasn't just big, it was BIG. Sure there's details that would mean that not all the proceeds would actually be donated, but nevertheless, that amount is huge. Its a big step for, as noted in the article, someone who is dependent on fossil fuels.

All this 'philanthropy' from big business leaders however, begs the question - why are they really doing this? No, not the answer that the PR people give, the real reason. This is one of the questions posed by the awesome must-see doco, The Corporation, recently released as a free torrent download. The doco analyses the corporation as a person, after all, that is effectively what it is legally. The debate is fairly well weighted on both sides, with some very interesting interviews.

Anyway, back to the point. Can big corporations really have such alturistic views? After all, their existence is really mainly for profit - there's no doubt that with shareholders behind them they have to deliver in that regard. With the shareholders in control, even if the founder or board have alturistic intentions, there's nothing much they can do. Shareholders often don't see the corporation as much of a living entity - its just one way to make money and that's it. A shareholder activist says in the film (paraphrased), "Who are the board to decide what's socially responsible?", and its quite right.

Ultimately however, corporation or not, I don't believe anyone is truly alturistic. People do it for the fame, the recognition, and possibly future financial/personal rewards. Corporations are the same, given they're really just giant puppets being controlled by a small group of people.

So you're saying alturism is bad then, and we should all go back to our instinctual selfish ways?

No, the world operates on 'alturism'. If everything was performed for their financial (perceived or not) cost, the world would be a diabolical mess. The world would be ruled by a handful of people, ultimately corrupted by greed. The rest of us would be in dire straits, our lives controlled to the second as scores of people line up (or trample) you for your position.

So-called 'alturism' is really just a game about someone willing to lower costs to help someone. Issue is, what is the remaining cost? That's never an easy question, and often can't be predicted until later. Realistically however, this is the way that the world advances. Who knows? Maybe its really just a game of leapfrog - on a global scale, people are already predicting the power of China, India etc., so called 3rd-world countries not so long ago (of course, they still have a long way to go).

Back to Branson's pledge - as evil as his intentions maybe, it still is a step in the right direction. It underscores the power of publishing, the power of being able to spread the word, the power that we have in our hands. We may not be able to pull it off ourselves, but we can influence those in power, and compromise on the solution.

The role of social responsibility of corporations is still muddy, but the power of the people is now greater than ever, and maybe we, as a global community, can help forge the path.

Ok, rant over (if it doesn't make sense, its the heat - its 35 degrees as I write this, and its nearly 9 at night!).

Its interesting to note that the google guys are now 'in' with the big business community, after only a very, very short period in comparison. Now can they keep their 'don't be evil' mantra true?

P.S. I went and saw Casino Royale today, (was shocked originally when 007 drove a Ford Focus equivalent) and all the blatant product placement aside (including Branson's Virgin Atlantic), I swear I saw Branson in a quick pan when Bond was going through the detectors at Miami International Airport. Anyone back me up?

UPDATE (16/12/2006): A couple of mates have confirmed that - yes Branson was in the film. Geez, the guy loves his attention, and now he's forever in the giant 007 franchise. I love the guy, but maybe, just maybe, he's seeking too much attention for his own good. After all however, Branson is synonymous with Virgin - I wonder what'll happen to Virgin when Branson retires/passes away...