Is Charitable Giving Becoming Part of the Corporate Culture?

Charitable giving has been part of the business culture ever since businesses have begun making huge amounts of money. But these days all businesses are incorporating elements of social responsibility into their corporate culture. In fact, recently Google announced that the employee bonus program at their company will tie 25% of employee bonuses to social activity. But they're not the only one giving.
A women from Shelbyville, TN has been organizing a drive to get fleece blankets to the victims of Japan's recent earthquake. In a recent interview she said, "It's just a small thing we can do. We receive thousands of letters and thank you notes every year from children. Over and over they express how touched they are that a stranger would take the time to make something for them. They really know the difference. Purchased blankets are nice, but handmade blankets are from the heart."
And many companies are joining this idea as they send fleece blankets and sheet sets to disaster stricken areas. Some companies have even taken the idea further and are becoming a "Buy 1 Give 1" business. This means that for every fleece blanket that a customer buys for themselves, the company donates the exact same blanket to a person in need. Though most recipients are children, they are definitely not the only ones that are benefiting from the new form of corporate giving. Many people of all ages and all around the world are becoming more and more connected to these initiatives.
Though some may be skeptical of this new found interest of giving by corporate interests, the facts on the ground currently suggest that this is a trend that is worth developing. As long as companies are being held accountable for the amount of donations they are supposed to give, then this new form of corporate sponsored charity should benefit everyone.
With the success of corporate giving tests like the laptop buy 1 give 1 idea from 2008, many companies are now offering many products that could benefit those in need - from shoes to fleece blankets and sheet sets. All the basic necessities are now being consumed by the giving spree. And despite the cautionary outlook that many customers feel, it seems to be making a big difference, much bigger than anyone could have imagined. It will be very interesting to see where corporations and smaller businesses will take this idea. What can the next step of charitable giving be? We will have to wait and see. But for the meantime, it is a blessed change from the corporate behavior we were used to seeing in the past decades.

Is Charitable Giving Becoming Part of the Corporate Culture?

Charitable giving has been part of the business culture ever since businesses have begun making huge amounts of money. But these days all businesses are incorporating elements of social responsibility into their corporate culture. In fact, recently Google announced that the employee bonus program at their company will tie 25% of employee bonuses to social activity. But they're not the only one giving.
A women from Shelbyville, TN has been organizing a drive to get fleece blankets to the victims of Japan's recent earthquake. In a recent interview she said, "It's just a small thing we can do. We receive thousands of letters and thank you notes every year from children. Over and over they express how touched they are that a stranger would take the time to make something for them. They really know the difference. Purchased blankets are nice, but handmade blankets are from the heart."
And many companies are joining this idea as they send fleece blankets and sheet sets to disaster stricken areas. Some companies have even taken the idea further and are becoming a "Buy 1 Give 1" business. This means that for every fleece blanket that a customer buys for themselves, the company donates the exact same blanket to a person in need. Though most recipients are children, they are definitely not the only ones that are benefiting from the new form of corporate giving. Many people of all ages and all around the world are becoming more and more connected to these initiatives.
Though some may be skeptical of this new found interest of giving by corporate interests, the facts on the ground currently suggest that this is a trend that is worth developing. As long as companies are being held accountable for the amount of donations they are supposed to give, then this new form of corporate sponsored charity should benefit everyone.
With the success of corporate giving tests like the laptop buy 1 give 1 idea from 2008, many companies are now offering many products that could benefit those in need - from shoes to fleece blankets and sheet sets. All the basic necessities are now being consumed by the giving spree. And despite the cautionary outlook that many customers feel, it seems to be making a big difference, much bigger than anyone could have imagined. It will be very interesting to see where corporations and smaller businesses will take this idea. What can the next step of charitable giving be? We will have to wait and see. But for the meantime, it is a blessed change from the corporate behavior we were used to seeing in the past decades.

America, Utopia, and The Future

All societies have four fundamental aspects.

1. How the individuals of society organize moral laws and guidelines (Human Rights)
2. How the individuals of society organize and regulate themselves (Government)
3. How these individuals exchange goods and commerce (Economy)
4. How these individuals apply their time and knowledge, in the form of crafting tools to further their own ends (Technology)

Part ONE - Human RightsThe question is therefore - in a Utopia - the ultimate goal of humankind since the dawn of remembered ages - how would these four aspects be arranged?
Enlightenment Philosophy - those ideas upon which the United States was founded - holds that humans have a fundamental state of nature. In other words - before a human (or group of humans) form a culture or society - there is a universal state in which all humans find themselves. Depending on which philosopher you read, this state of nature is either one of chaos or of bliss - [John Locke's Two Treatises on Government vs. Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan.]
Out of the state of nature, mankind enters into a social contract. This essentially means that all peoples within a given land agree to adhere to a fundamental set of laws - thereby establishing their own constitutions of self-government. As all societies and cultures are made of the individuals that they encompass (the idea behind Hobbes' Leviathan) - individuals are the ultimate source of power in any given culture.
It is by agreeing to the social contract that the individuals of society (hereby referred to as the people) agree to further certain ends. In the Pre-Amble of the Constitution of the United States of America these six ends are defined as follows:

1. To form a more perfect Union,
2. To establish Justice,
3. To insure domestic Tranquility,
4. To provide for the common defense,
5. To promote the general Welfare, and
6. To secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity [children]

The People thereby agree to impose upon themselves the obligation to follow the laws of society, understanding that by following these laws they further the divinely inspired ends to which all humans aspire.However, as also stated in the Constitution of The United States - the people are also within their god-given rights to not follow the laws of society in the event that the government has become destructive to the purposes under which the people agreed to follow the laws of society.
In other words, if the government were to systematically oppress and cheat it's citizens, it is within the natural rights of all humans to reform or rebel against a totalitarian or oppressive regime.
In the discussion of human rights in a Utopia, all of the aforementioned rights would be required and necessary. A Utopian society could not be enforced by a central government - to the contrary, this would be the exact opposite of Utopia -dictatorship. Instead, the Utopian society would be understood to be founded upon well-natured, caring, and responsible citizens whom actively police their own actions - not only as individuals, but as a culture.
Let it therefore be understood that the liberty and freedom of The People is the fundamental element upon which a Utopia would be founded. Not Government, nor Economy, Nor Technology. All other configurations of society would ultimately end in oppression.
The duty of citizens in a Utopian society is education. The Founding Fathers of this United States of America understood this clearly.
To quote Thomas Jefferson -

I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome direction, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power.

To paraphrase this in more modern English:

I know of no better fail-safe against abuse of power than the people themselves, and if they are not aware enough to govern themselves in accordance with the common good, then the solution is not to revoke their rights, but to enlighten their minds through education - this is the true remedy against abuse of power.

Therefore we can concur that in a Utopia the main stress of culture would be to educate and inform the people. The spread of information would therefor be paramount to all other concerns of law.Part TWO - Law and Government
[In the following, let it be known that The State refers to the working body of legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government that arise to keep the constitution written and adopted by The People safe and secure.]
Within a Utopian society it is understood that the fundamental building block which holds the rest of society in working order is The People. Though not just any people are worthy - nor even CAPABLE of keeping a Utopia RUNNING. Only a well-informed, well-educated body of MORAL citizens can keep a Utopian society truly a Utopia - IN OTHER WORDS: The stability of The State is wholly dependent upon EDUCATING and INFORMING The People. [the individuals of society]
Therefore, the government should be reflective of the end to ensure that The People are always kept well-informed.
The primary focus of government is then to promote and keep transparency in all areas except where it poses a threat to The State [the most obvious being military planning]
Similar to government regulatory bodies seen today - The FDA being the prime most example. The government of a Utopian society would be primarily concerned with the spread of information to the purpose of informing The People.
In a Utopia, one could speculate that the role of Universities would be very cherished and valued. The role of INFORMATION would be well understood by a Utopian culture and very treasured - as well as protected. The Government would be made of prominent, learned scholars - though in effect, everyone in the Utopian society would be very, very well-educated.
The secondary purpose of a transparent governing body is to prevent corruption.Foreign enemies pose great threats to any state - though they have the disadvantage of being visible to the culture to which they are an enemy. It is however domestic enemies that have the significant advantage of being invisible to the culture to which they wish to destroy.
It is therefore a government that promotes and practices transparency that is most well defended against corruption. Corruption in the government leads to the oppression of The People - which in turn ends in revolution and open rebellion - and therefore, the destruction of The State.
Part THREE - Economy:
The economy of a free people is one that requires no regulation. In a transparent and open society, the negative impact of any products would be well-understood. In a compassionate and loving citizen body such products would not be bought and therefore would not be produced. The making of such objects illegal through prohibition would be as unnecessary as it is futile. [History has shown time and time again that prohibition is about as effective as throwing a wet rag at a charging bear.] The duty of the government in the economy would not be any regulation or "approval" of products - merely the well-documented, objective analysis of the effects of these products, and a review of their efficiency as related to cost.
In a Utopia, such products as dangerous pharmaceuticals and dirty energy sources such as coal would not exist - simple because the consequences of such products would be well-understood by The People and would not be purchased by upright and moral citizens who understand that these products are destructive to the ends under which they entered the social contract.
Part FOUR - Technology
Science, when pursued as the "ultimate goal" or man - loses its perspective as but one of many areas of human knowledge in the quest for the divine. Pursuing scientific understanding merely for the sake of "knowing" is similar in thought and concept to masturbating. In a Utopia, science would be in its rightful place not as the ultimate goal of mankind, but merely as a means to an end.
In a Utopia, technology would be fundamental in the spread of information. As such, informational technologies would be actively improved and enhanced. In this modern age, technologies such as the internet are our most active examples of the sorts of technology Utopian citizens would have access to - though presumably they would also invent a myriad of technologies much more efficient in comparison to cost.
Technology would also be fundamental in many of the same ways it is in the modern world. Producing energy, farming, and transportation. HOWEVER - it is presumable that in a Utopian culture Mother Earth would be quintessentially understood as a fundamental component of life and as such all technologies would be developed in accordance with the rhythms of nature.
Humankind is at the brink of all four of these elements coming together in harmony and union. It is only by the unhindered will of The People acting in accordance with God that Utopia can be ACHIEVED.

America, Utopia, and The Future

All societies have four fundamental aspects.

1. How the individuals of society organize moral laws and guidelines (Human Rights)
2. How the individuals of society organize and regulate themselves (Government)
3. How these individuals exchange goods and commerce (Economy)
4. How these individuals apply their time and knowledge, in the form of crafting tools to further their own ends (Technology)

Part ONE - Human RightsThe question is therefore - in a Utopia - the ultimate goal of humankind since the dawn of remembered ages - how would these four aspects be arranged?
Enlightenment Philosophy - those ideas upon which the United States was founded - holds that humans have a fundamental state of nature. In other words - before a human (or group of humans) form a culture or society - there is a universal state in which all humans find themselves. Depending on which philosopher you read, this state of nature is either one of chaos or of bliss - [John Locke's Two Treatises on Government vs. Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan.]
Out of the state of nature, mankind enters into a social contract. This essentially means that all peoples within a given land agree to adhere to a fundamental set of laws - thereby establishing their own constitutions of self-government. As all societies and cultures are made of the individuals that they encompass (the idea behind Hobbes' Leviathan) - individuals are the ultimate source of power in any given culture.
It is by agreeing to the social contract that the individuals of society (hereby referred to as the people) agree to further certain ends. In the Pre-Amble of the Constitution of the United States of America these six ends are defined as follows:

1. To form a more perfect Union,
2. To establish Justice,
3. To insure domestic Tranquility,
4. To provide for the common defense,
5. To promote the general Welfare, and
6. To secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity [children]

The People thereby agree to impose upon themselves the obligation to follow the laws of society, understanding that by following these laws they further the divinely inspired ends to which all humans aspire.However, as also stated in the Constitution of The United States - the people are also within their god-given rights to not follow the laws of society in the event that the government has become destructive to the purposes under which the people agreed to follow the laws of society.
In other words, if the government were to systematically oppress and cheat it's citizens, it is within the natural rights of all humans to reform or rebel against a totalitarian or oppressive regime.
In the discussion of human rights in a Utopia, all of the aforementioned rights would be required and necessary. A Utopian society could not be enforced by a central government - to the contrary, this would be the exact opposite of Utopia -dictatorship. Instead, the Utopian society would be understood to be founded upon well-natured, caring, and responsible citizens whom actively police their own actions - not only as individuals, but as a culture.
Let it therefore be understood that the liberty and freedom of The People is the fundamental element upon which a Utopia would be founded. Not Government, nor Economy, Nor Technology. All other configurations of society would ultimately end in oppression.
The duty of citizens in a Utopian society is education. The Founding Fathers of this United States of America understood this clearly.
To quote Thomas Jefferson -

I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome direction, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education. This is the true corrective of abuses of constitutional power.

To paraphrase this in more modern English:

I know of no better fail-safe against abuse of power than the people themselves, and if they are not aware enough to govern themselves in accordance with the common good, then the solution is not to revoke their rights, but to enlighten their minds through education - this is the true remedy against abuse of power.

Therefore we can concur that in a Utopia the main stress of culture would be to educate and inform the people. The spread of information would therefor be paramount to all other concerns of law.Part TWO - Law and Government
[In the following, let it be known that The State refers to the working body of legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government that arise to keep the constitution written and adopted by The People safe and secure.]
Within a Utopian society it is understood that the fundamental building block which holds the rest of society in working order is The People. Though not just any people are worthy - nor even CAPABLE of keeping a Utopia RUNNING. Only a well-informed, well-educated body of MORAL citizens can keep a Utopian society truly a Utopia - IN OTHER WORDS: The stability of The State is wholly dependent upon EDUCATING and INFORMING The People. [the individuals of society]
Therefore, the government should be reflective of the end to ensure that The People are always kept well-informed.
The primary focus of government is then to promote and keep transparency in all areas except where it poses a threat to The State [the most obvious being military planning]
Similar to government regulatory bodies seen today - The FDA being the prime most example. The government of a Utopian society would be primarily concerned with the spread of information to the purpose of informing The People.
In a Utopia, one could speculate that the role of Universities would be very cherished and valued. The role of INFORMATION would be well understood by a Utopian culture and very treasured - as well as protected. The Government would be made of prominent, learned scholars - though in effect, everyone in the Utopian society would be very, very well-educated.
The secondary purpose of a transparent governing body is to prevent corruption.Foreign enemies pose great threats to any state - though they have the disadvantage of being visible to the culture to which they are an enemy. It is however domestic enemies that have the significant advantage of being invisible to the culture to which they wish to destroy.
It is therefore a government that promotes and practices transparency that is most well defended against corruption. Corruption in the government leads to the oppression of The People - which in turn ends in revolution and open rebellion - and therefore, the destruction of The State.
Part THREE - Economy:
The economy of a free people is one that requires no regulation. In a transparent and open society, the negative impact of any products would be well-understood. In a compassionate and loving citizen body such products would not be bought and therefore would not be produced. The making of such objects illegal through prohibition would be as unnecessary as it is futile. [History has shown time and time again that prohibition is about as effective as throwing a wet rag at a charging bear.] The duty of the government in the economy would not be any regulation or "approval" of products - merely the well-documented, objective analysis of the effects of these products, and a review of their efficiency as related to cost.
In a Utopia, such products as dangerous pharmaceuticals and dirty energy sources such as coal would not exist - simple because the consequences of such products would be well-understood by The People and would not be purchased by upright and moral citizens who understand that these products are destructive to the ends under which they entered the social contract.
Part FOUR - Technology
Science, when pursued as the "ultimate goal" or man - loses its perspective as but one of many areas of human knowledge in the quest for the divine. Pursuing scientific understanding merely for the sake of "knowing" is similar in thought and concept to masturbating. In a Utopia, science would be in its rightful place not as the ultimate goal of mankind, but merely as a means to an end.
In a Utopia, technology would be fundamental in the spread of information. As such, informational technologies would be actively improved and enhanced. In this modern age, technologies such as the internet are our most active examples of the sorts of technology Utopian citizens would have access to - though presumably they would also invent a myriad of technologies much more efficient in comparison to cost.
Technology would also be fundamental in many of the same ways it is in the modern world. Producing energy, farming, and transportation. HOWEVER - it is presumable that in a Utopian culture Mother Earth would be quintessentially understood as a fundamental component of life and as such all technologies would be developed in accordance with the rhythms of nature.
Humankind is at the brink of all four of these elements coming together in harmony and union. It is only by the unhindered will of The People acting in accordance with God that Utopia can be ACHIEVED.