Exploiting the Third World - The Filled With Malevolent Traits Foundation

As a person deeply concerned with the state of the world ethics in marketing (or rather the lack therein) is a subject I am constantly fascinated by.

Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility speaks on voluntary actions taken by a company to address ethical, social, and environmental impacts of its operations and the concerns of its stakeholders. There are many dynamics and differences of companies that are ethical vs. unethical, socially responsible vs. socially irresponsible, and any combination therein.

Well, what of the companies that are neither ethical or socially responsible that hide and grow creatively behind the façade of both ethical and socially responsible institutions? These are undoubtedly the most morally reprehensible types of unethical businesses on the globe, calling to mind Dante's 9th circle dwellers of his epic poem, "The Inferno."

One such institution is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. On its carefully polished exterior, the foundation presents itself as a philanthropic non-profit whose mission statement reads, " Dedicated to bringing innovations in health, development, and learning to the global community." It sounds lovely and looking over the firm's PR it makes Mr. Gates and his wife out to look like angels walking the Earth to protect children of the third world from disease.

Bill Gates is everywhere on mainstream media promoting the importance of vaccination spewing false and hyperbolic statistics in order to snowball support for his ambitious initiatives to vaccinate the third world and cure it of AIDS and other diseases. The Foundation makes very substantial funding to NPR radio who does its fair share of promoting agendas on-board with the Gates foundation, through thinly veiled "news segments." (Nothing new for NPR, which does the same for other horrific institutions like Monsanto - another proud sponsor of its news program.)

Not much is mentioned on these radio spots, or in the mainstream media in general questioning Mr. Gates' motives for operating an organization whose mission is to eradicate the third world of disease. Gates is obviously a brilliant business man and an entrepreneur who is many steps ahead in the business world, so why would he be concerned with the health of the third world? This question is asked particularly amongst those who are aware of Gates outspoken position on the importance of curbing the world's population through vaccination and reproductive interferences such as planned parenthood.

Well considering the hundreds of millions of money already spent with hundreds of PR-stunts featuring Bill Gates as a modern Santa Clause he has not made a single effort promoting natural, non-patentable therapies. Moreover, Gates and the other "stuntmen" were caught financing international conferences, like in Toronto, and abused it to attack South Africa and other governments who decided to cut themselves loose from the genocidal business with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs promoted by big pharma. [L]

Also once need only consider that The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has purchased shares in nine big pharmaceutical companies valued at nearly $205 million -- an investment likely to attract attention more for its symbolism than its size. The foundation, the nation's largest with an endowment of $24.2 billion from Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and his wife, already is a major force in international health issues, contributing $555 million in 2000 alone to global health programs. The organization has emerged as a prominent voice in the debate over how to supply cheaper drugs for AIDS and other diseases to poor countries. At times, it has assumed the role of a broker between poor nations and drug companies. [L2]

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is investing lots of time, energy, and consideration into each innovation project, which tend to indicate that each effort has significant promise. We should remember that such promise is not only encouraging for the downtrodden, but for capitalist as well.

I feel it is the responsibility of the media, as well as those who are reading between the lines to pick up the ethical slack here and share vital information behind this institutions and others like it, that put on the mask of a savior and exploit the problems of the oppressed nations to reap giant profits and seize vital control of resources abroad.