The Obligations of Transnational Corporations: Rawlsian Justice and the Duty of Assistance

Abstract

Abstract:Building on John Rawls’s account of the Law of Peoples, this paper examines the grounds and scope of the obligations of transnational corporations (TNCs) that are owned by members of developed economies and operate in developing economies. The paper advances two broad claims. First, the paper argues that there are conditions under which TNCs have obligations to fulfill a limited duty of assistance toward those living in developing economies, even though the duty is normally understood to fall on the governments of developed economies. Second, by extending Rawls’s account to include a right to protection against arbitrary interference, the paper argues that TNCs can be said to have negative and positive obligations in the areas of human rights, labor standards, and environmental protection, as outlined in the U.N. Global Compact. More generally, the paper aims to further our understanding of the implications of Rawls’s account of justice.

Qur’anic Ethics for Environmental Responsibility: Implications for Business Practice

“…carbon emissions, air and water pollution, wastewater, waste energy, landfill, soil erosion, deforestation, etc.) are still prevailing if not escalating (Babcock, 2009b;Campbell, 2006;Gray et al, 1995a;Hsieh, 2004;Kula, 2001).…”

Eco-Islam: Beyond the Principles of Why and What, and Into the Principles of How

“…Currently, the so-called "Islamic economy" is emerging as a new paradigm, opposed to the "value-free economy" (Rice 1999 (Babcock 2009;Campbell 2006;Gray et al 1995;Hsieh 2004;Kula 2001). This has led Helfaya et al (forthcoming) to argue that "such corporate environmental approaches have been less sufficient in changing attitudes that constitute the environmentally damaging consequences of society"; thus a need for a complementary approach has arisen, with special reference to religion.…”

Synthesising Corporate Responsibility on Organisational and Societal Levels of Analysis: An Integrative Perspective

“…Both critiques challenge the view that states and business organisations are fundamentally different kinds of entities, and call for acknowledgement of the connections between them. Contributing to the debate, Norman (2015) offers an excellent analysis of the opportunities and challenges related to the Rawlsian political theory and the idea of division of moral labour faces in the setting of corporate governance, while Hsieh (2004) importantly demonstrates how the implications of Rawls' approach to justice manifest in the non-ideal setting of economic development.…”

“…This new political role for corporations is seen to be in line with not only the deliberative democracy but also with the republican conceptions of society (Scherer et al 2006;Palazzo 2007, 2011). The republican political theory focuses on the issues of political freedom and understands the notion of freedom as a state of affairs characterised by the absence of domination and arbitrary power (Pettit 1996;Hsieh 2004). Moreover, the republican philosophy is often linked with the deliberative conception of democracy, underlining the idea of democracy as public political argumentation going beyond the vote-centric and aggregative conceptions of democracy (Kymlicka 2002).…”