Do Corporations Have Ethics?

[the emperor]

On 30 Aug 1999 bruce at perens.com wrote:

> From: <mark at pc-intouch.com>
> > The application of this to free-software advocacy is that we can use
> > Eric's approach (which doesn't require any kind of ideological commitment)
> > to persuade people to use the software and see that it works, after which
> > they'll be more receptive to the ideology.
> 
> Do corporations have ethics, and can they be swayed by ethical arguments?
> The answer is "sometimes", just as it is for individuals. I've actually
> been very pleased by the response I get from most corporations regarding
> free software _once_we_get_their_attention_.

A primary influencer will always be profit. 

As attractive as the notion of free software is at a personal level to the
people who comprise the corporation, free software must be profitable to
justify participation--in other words, we should reach corporations by
explaining why a corporation will make more money by developing free
software; I don't think it's enough to say it will develop *better*
software. 

If it were merely ethical, businesses might only contribute to free
software projects in the same way they give money to foundations--scarcely
at all, and with token amounts. 

> But it's almost a moot point as long as individuals are important to the
> Open Source movement. Some of the hugest corporations have been persuaded
> to use OSD-compliant licenses by the argument "we won't work with you
> otherwise", where working with us is clearly in their interest. It's up to
> _us_ to be vigilant and to provide the ethics, and to provide the corporations
> with motivation to go along with us for the sake of their bottom line. That
> means we can't back down on our ethics: they won't hold the line for us, we
> have to do it ourselves.

Call me naive, but I believe that the market will promote the principles
of free software in the same way Adam Smith believed the market
promoted the public good.

There is a special kind of misery reserved for the developer who cannot
improve software due to traditional intellectual property business
practices. Businesses who can mitigate that misery will find the dollars
/ rubles / yuen flowing their direction.
 
............. kris