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Curious Worldview Podcast
Christopher Marquis | Negative Externalities... How Corporations Privatise Their Upside By Socialising The Downside
Dec 23, 2024
Christopher Marquis, a Professor at the Judge Business School in Cambridge and author of "Profiteers," delves into the hidden costs of corporate practices. He discusses how industries like agriculture and fast fashion externalize their negative impacts, often at the expense of society and the environment. Marquis introduces concepts like the externality iceberg and critiques the gap between consumer awareness and ethical choices, particularly in the chocolate industry. He also highlights the dangers of greenwashing and the environmental costs tied to modern technology.
01:19:14
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Quick takeaways
- The iceberg metaphor illustrates how companies hide significant societal and environmental costs, leading to the socialization of negative externalities like emissions and waste.
- Plastic pollution exemplifies a failure of corporations to address environmental impacts, as they often prioritize short-term cost savings over sustainable practices.
Deep dives
The Externality Iceberg Concept
Externalities are discussed in terms of an iceberg metaphor, where the visible portion represents the costs that companies can see, such as paid waste removal, while the larger, unseen portion reflects societal and environmental costs that remain externalized. This concept highlights how companies can increase profits by obscuring or ignoring these hidden costs, effectively socializing them rather than taking responsibility. The speaker emphasizes that issues like carbon emissions are often discussed openly, but many negative externalities, such as supply chain inequalities and various forms of waste, are much less visible. This lack of visibility allows corporations to maintain higher profit margins at the expense of public welfare.
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