Unfettered Corporate Greed and the Collapse of Effective Leadership: Why Workers Must Be Agents of Positive Change
- Dr. Robyn Short
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
In this era of collapse, we must turn toward each other. We must build power from the ground up. We must create workplaces—and a nation—where peace and dignity are not luxuries, but birthrights.
We are living through the collapse of modern civilization—and no, that is not an overstatement. From climate breakdown and political violence to the erosion of democratic norms and care for human dignity, the signs of systemic failure are all around us. At the core of this collapse is a toxic brew of corporate greed, legislative manipulation, and cultural disconnection. One of the most catastrophic accelerants of this downward spiral in the United States has been the Supreme Court decision known as Citizens United v. FEC.
Citizens United: Legalizing Corporate Rule
The 2010 Citizens United ruling allowed corporations and special interest groups to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns under the guise of “free speech.” While the First Amendment was originally meant to protect individual voices against tyranny, this decision flipped that vision on its head by granting corporations the same rights as people—only with exponentially more resources.
The result? The power of individual voters and small donors was diluted almost beyond recognition. If, in the last decade, you have felt more and more like your vote doesn’t matter,
Citizens United is the reason why. Yes, the system is rigged—but not in the way many would like us to believe. Citizens United rigged elections to the benefit of corporate greed, allowing corporate money to flood into elections, drowning out the will of everyday people. Political candidates have become more beholden to corporate donors than to their own constituents. This legalized bribery has enabled policies that serve shareholders rather than citizens—and the consequences are deadly.
From Corporate Greed to National Breakdown
Today, we are witnessing the unraveling of American society due to the power corporations now wield over our lives:
Climate Change: Fossil fuel giants like ExxonMobil and Chevron have spent billions funding climate denial, lobbying against renewable energy, and weakening regulations. The planet burns while profit margins grow.
Political Violence: Corporations have funneled dark money into political action committees that back candidates inciting hate, division, and authoritarianism. Many of these same corporations publicly espouse values of inclusion while funding politicians who promote white nationalism.
The Attack on Equity: Under this current administration—and now echoed in state legislatures across the country—efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are being outlawed. Federal bans on DEI programs strip away decades of civil rights progress under the false narrative that equity is a threat.
Cruelty as Policy: The current Administration’s immigration policies, including the detention and deportation of immigrants to prison-like facilities without release, mirror tactics used by Nazi Germany. These aren't political disagreements—they're human rights violations. We have seen them before and promised “never again.”
Workplace Exploitation: Corporations slash wages, bust unions, and erode benefits while CEOs rake in historic profits. Workers are disposable. Human dignity is an afterthought.
How Citizens Can Unite Against Citizens United
We cannot wait for politicians or billionaires to save us. They are the problem. It is up to us—workers, leaders, neighbors, citizens—to build the world we want to live in. Here are some ideas for how we can be agents of positive change:
1. Expose and Boycott Corporate Enablers
Many major corporations have quietly funneled money to Trump’s campaigns or PACs that support him. These include:
AT&T
Home Depot
Chevron
Uline
Goya Foods
MyPillow
Public pressure campaigns, boycotts, and social media call-outs can make these companies pay for betraying democratic values.
2. Resist from Within
If you work for a large corporation:
Organize internal campaigns to hold leadership accountable.
Refuse to work on projects that harm marginalized communities.
Build solidarity through internal DEI and employee resource groups.
3. Workers as Agents of Peace and Dignity
Workplace Peace Institute outlines concrete steps for creating cultures of equity and dignity:
Active listening circles to address conflict nonviolently.
Restorative justice practices that center healing over punishment.
Shared leadership models that distribute power, not hoard it.
Transparent communication that invites trust, not fear.
Mid-level managers can champion these efforts, creating micro-cultures of peace within dysfunctional systems. CEOs can do the hard, ethical work of divesting from harmful politics and re-investing in the common good.
The Role of Mindfulness and Trauma-Informed Leadership
We cannot meet the violence of the world with more violence. We need leaders who are grounded, conscious, and compassionate. That begins with serious mindfulness practices—not as corporate wellness trends, but as spiritual discipline.
Being trauma-informed means understanding that every employee carries visible and invisible wounds. Leaders must meet their people with empathy, curiosity, and dignity. This is what it means to be in right relationship—a state of mutual respect and accountability rooted in shared humanity.
When leaders are trauma-informed and rooted in mindfulness, they create the conditions for peace to emerge—not just in the workplace, but in the nation.
A Call to Action: We Are the Answer
No one is coming to save us.
There is no single hero, no sweeping legislation, no billionaire savior. The answer is us. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We must rise up—not just against the cruelty of a corrupt Administration, but for the world we know is possible.
That means:
Practicing radical inclusion in every team and boardroom.
Standing up for immigrants, trans people, Black and Brown lives, and poor communities.
Organizing against corporate funding of cruel policies and walking off jobs when human dignity is denied.
Demanding that corporations get out of politics—or lose their customers forever.
This is an emergency. To treat it as anything else is either naïve or willfully complicit in cruelty. But in every emergency lies opportunity—an opening to become more courageous, more connected, more alive.
We must turn toward each other. We must build power from the ground up. We must create workplaces—and a nation—where peace and dignity are not luxuries, but birthrights.
Workplace Peace Institute is an organization systems design and research firm that is singularly focused on creating workplace cultures where people thrive. Workplace Peace Institute supports small to mid-sized businesses in optimizing employee engagement, maximizing organizational productivity, and improving profitability by infusing human security and dignity as foundational attributes of their business model. Our Leadership Academy supports leaders in honoring basic human needs and dignity needs in the workplace, so they can actualize human potential in the workplace. The online Leadership Academy optimizes competencies in human behavior, communication skills, conflict resolution, and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging to create highly engaged workplaces where basic human needs and dignity are consistently honored. All our courses are offered online and can be customized for in-person workshops and seminars.