Are Men the Real Culprits Behind Corporate Greed?

Men have really taken a beating from the feminist movement. Adult males - American males in particular - have, for decades now, bourne the blame for everything from environmental devastation to the ever-widening rift between the rich and the poor. To be sure, these are crucial issues; and men are justified in bearing a portion of the guilt (assuming, of course, that they number among those who care enough to feel any guilt at all). but it takes two to tango, as the saying goes, and the bigger picture seems to implicate both sexes in the ills besetting society and the world at large.

The history of men is one of competition for women. All that bravado, from the trials of pain and bravery in waring tribal cultures to the parading of fancy cars and flashy clothes in the modern world, has been abetted in large part by the ongoing struggle for mates. It's the biological imperative that pushes one man to see another as a competitor and potential threat rather than a fellow traveler on the adventure of life.

So, in this modern world of ecological devastation, wars for oil, and the corporate greed that lies behind both, many people point to the men in the arena of big business who make the decisions that affect the quality of life for the rest of us for the worse. What is not so often pointed out, though, is the reasons why so many of these men in high-powered positions got involved in the cutthroat business world in the first place.

What about all the women out there who hold out for men who will provide them with luxurious homes, vehicles, clothes, etc., as well as security for their children? A girl who graduates High School with the ambition of finding a rich husband is hardly a rare phenomenon. And believe me, men get this message. How many of us really want to face the prospect of a life lived alone? And what other recourse do we have to achieve the wealth (or even the modest means) to attract a mate then to struggle to succeed in a corporate environment that has dubious political influence and agendas, that narrows the opportunities for average people in an increasingly homogenized society, and wreaks havoc on the natural living systems of this world?

Nah; men may be the more visible villains in this story but the women behind them are equally party to it. Our cultural climate is not so much a split between male and female or even the haves and the have-nots but rather between those who manage to thrive within a sickly system and those who fall by the wayside.