> Subject: Big firms are too powerful, poll finds > > Big firms are too powerful, poll finds > Big firms are too powerful, poll finds > Informed, wired citizens want greater controls > > Jorge Barrera > The Ottawa Citizen > > Wednesday, January 02, 2008 > The majority of the world's most informed, engaged and connected > citizens believe large corporations have too much influence over > government decisions and wield more power than governments, according > to a poll conducted by Ipsos Global Public Affairs. > The survey found 74 per cent of respondents believe companies have too > much influence, while 69 per cent agreed that large companies are more > powerful than governments. > Most of these citizens, referred to as "intelligaged" by the pollster, > back aggressive action by their governments to regulate the activities > of national and multinational corporations. > The poll defined intelligaged as the most involved and influential > population in each country surveyed. All were Internet users, 68 per > cent voted in the most recent election, half had instigated political, > economic and social discussions, and 37 per cent had signed a petition > in the past year. > Among Canada's intelligaged citizens, 80 per cent said large companies > have too much influence over government decisions, 77 per cent said > large companies have more power than the government, and the same > proportion wanted more aggressive government regulation. > Darrell Bricker, president of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, said the > Internet has created a global public square where people can share > their experiences with a world audience. What happens in one corner of > the world can quickly travel around the globe and influence the > decisions and perceptions of people on a mass scale. > "The Internet is the great leveller," said Mr. Bricker. "What this > shows is that the public is simply not willing to allow business to > operate totally unfettered into the future." > Major corporations could face more government intervention and > controls unless they become more sensitive to how global trends affect > public perceptions, Mr. Bricker said. "It is now about companies > operating as a global citizen and recognizing that, when things happen > in specific countries, they may be the tip of the iceberg of a global > trend," he said. > The emerging markets that companies tap to keep their profits growing > tend to be most suspicious of the corporate sector, said Mr. Bricker. > For example, in Argentina, which suffered through a severe economic > meltdown in the late 1990s and early 2000s, 85 per cent of respondents > said companies have too much influence and are more powerful than > government. Eighty-seven per cent of survey respondents said they > wanted more aggressive government regulations. > In another twist, people in countries where some of the world's > biggest companies were born believe major corporations are having a > "bad influence" on their domestic affairs. For instance, more than 70 > per cent of respondents in France and Germany said corporations are a > bad influence at home. > In all, 22,000 people were surveyed between Oct. 18 and Oct. 31 in 22 > countries classified as leading or emerging economic powerhouses. In > the United States and around the world, the numbers were similar, > although only 67 per cent of U.S. respondents demanded more government > controls. > The margin of error for each country is 3.1 percentage points, 19 > times out of 20. The countries surveyed were Argentina, Mexico, > Brazil, Australia, France, Britain, Russia, Belgium, Indian, Spain, > Canada, Turkey, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Sweden, United States, > Singapore, Netherlands, Poland, South Korea and Japan. > ============================================================== >
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