To me, the conclusion that the public has the ultimate responsibility for the behavior of even the biggest businesses is empowering and hopeful, rather than disappointing. My conclusion is not a moralistic one about who is right or wrong, admirable or selfish, a good guy or a bad guy. My conclusion is instead a prediction, based on what I have seen happening in the past. Businesses have changed when the public came to expect and require different behavior, to reward businesses for behavior that the public wanted, and to make things difficult for businesses practicing behaviors that the public didn't want. I predict that in the future, just as in the past, changes in public attitudes will be essential for changes in businesses' environmental practices. Jared Diamond
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In the future, if people don't start demanding to change how the companies around them operate, things will stay the same and we will not see much change. It is the public that forces businesses to change and to take responsibility for their actions. The public has changed how they expect businesses to run and what they want businesses to do. The public has created a demand for businesses to change and they can do it again.

Source: Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail Or Succeed

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