This is the season of job placements on campus and there has been a lot of discussions about the kind of jobs that one should look at, the kind of corporations and organisations that should be allowed, arguments about ethics and other such things related to placements. This is something that has been an ongoing discussion that has been a part of my life ever since my UG days and the situation is no different even after all these years with my own engagement in this discussions, I have realised some of the questions raised are important and it needs some kind of brainstorming which would maybe lead to an ideal and rational answers to these questions.
In this post i shall try to address and engage with a few of the questions that come up during to course of the discussion of why one should take up a CSR job or just a job in a corporation and also the questions that arise in defence of the choice of jobs one chooses.\
I shall here also make the disclaimer that i am not taking a moral high ground over anything else but rather trying to understand these things for my own clarity which is important for me to keep internalising as well as further strengthens my own belief systems and the principles of Justice, Equality and Fraternity.
The questions are not in any particular order but just those that came from the top of my head.
1. What is the point in not taking up the job? somebody is going to take it up?
It is important that one understands ones own belief systems and ones position in society. Ones values, standards of justice and principles cannot be determined by the fact that somebody else is going to take up the job and this leaves us t sit and sulk. The current society is based on a market of greed and plunder. It is up to an individual to stand up for what s/he believes in, and not come up with lame excuse of the fact that somebody else who is in the position of an oppressor would take up the job and the situation is not going to change where the oppressed community is still going to be oppressed. And for those who come from privileged backgrounds who choose to take up jobs that plunder and feed into the resources of those communities who are the rightful owners of these resources, one can do nothing but wait for a time when they realise their contribution towards the destruction of humanity and the environment by which time it would be too late for reconciliation.
2. What is the difference between a CSR job in a corporation and a job in an NGO that the same corporation donates funds to? It is still the same.
If we start looking at money as something that is ethical, then any form of money is tainted with the blood of somebody or the other. the difference between a CSR job in a corporation and an NGO job which is funded is the fact that the NGO can be made accountable where as a Corporation cannot be made accountable. For instance, in the 2G scam, TATAs have got a clean chit in all of it, but it has been a different case when it has come to NGOs being part of such huge levels of scams and even if they are then there are some measures of accountability that they as NGOs cannot buy like how powerful corporations can.
Also let me make myself clear, am not taking the side of the NGOs, but am trying to say that if an entity becomes so huge and powerful that they cannot be controlled by the people in a democracy then there are some serious concerns in the way one is organising the society and developing it for the future. There are organisations and groups which do not have any corporate funding and are functioning as good as anybody else, but still the fundamental aspect is money and how one steers clear out of this situation of being dependent of huge sums of monies and tries to get something that is more on a need based living rather than one of luxury which would basically eat into the resources of some marginalised community somewhere.
3. Why is one so against a CSR job, rather why not get into the system and try to change the system? Is it not the fact that as people who are sensitive and caring wont we reduce the damage that the corporation does to the people and the environment, for instance, don’t you think that we could save atleast 10 people out of the 100 people who it sets out to kill/dispossess?
The argument of getting into the system and then changing the system is something that has been going the rounds for a long time now and this is an argument that is fundamentally flawed. the reason being, the fact that corporations are not JUST systems, where one can go in can change it, they are massive structures which promote the agenda of the neo-liberal and capitalist forces and the only agenda is to plunder and make wealth for the people with the power and authority.
Now in a situation like this how can one change the nature of the system, i.e. its profit making nature which is the cause for the indiscriminate plunder and lack of respect for people as well as natural resources. What good is it to say, ” i saved a hundred lives today but still could not save the other 10,000 lives that were lost”. Does this mean we speak only for the 100 lives that we can save regardless the number of people we kill and dispossess in this process. Should we not stand by the entire 10,000 rather than feeling good about the fact that we saved a hundred lives?
When we are taking about changing the system through being a part of CSR, why is it that we are not talking about the laws of the land that the corporation has to follow when it is setting up and functioning the unit, can we talk about the environmental regulations that any corporation has to follow, or for that matter the labour rules and regulations that they have to follow. Would all this not account to changing the system by being within the system? Now one can answer that, all this is possible only by being part of the system, and in the past 6 years of my own life where i have considerably engaged with movements there has never been a single instance where i have had a friend from the corporate industry (yes, i do have friends in corporate houses) come and tell me that, “my company today has decided to follow all the environmental and labour regulations”. A friend’s father is the Vice-president in the Industrial relations of a particular manufacturing company and during one of the conversations with him, i asked him about what have been the innovating things that he has been able to bring about in his company in regards to the labour rules and he lamented that even though he is the VP of a company, he still does not have the power to bring about even a minor change within the system of labour relations and this he was talking about the plight of the contract labourers they employ and the policy they follow for them.
This is just one situation that i am mentioning but there have been many of my other friends who have stepped out of corporate jobs after their experiences there.
4. Capitalism and neo-liberalism are things that are going to dominate the world and these are systems that have been ingrained into our everyday lives and we are all part of it in some form or the other. It is a huge force to oppose, so would it not be better to modify the current form to something that is more just and equitable?
The computer that i am writing my post right now is a product of capitalism, the internet that i use is again part of the same system and i am also somebody who is part of this structure called capitalism. But should this stop me from standing up against an oppressive structure regardless the fact that i am contributing to the process of changing it. But in all this one also needs to analyse whether one is succumbing to the capitalist structure and becoming a slave to it or if one is standing up against it and is the process of constantly trying to identify new structures that are more democratic, equitable and progressive rather than being a status qouist. In the same capitalist structure i am able to define the way i would like to lead my life and will not let the structure of capitalism define and determine the way i live my life. The fundamental aspect in this argument is the aspect of control of ones life and i can confidentially argue that i am i control of my life to a considerable extent which makes me realise the importance of aspects of democracy and dissent against injustice.
The other line of argument that i also place here is the fact that being a male and someone who is part of the structure of Patriarchy should i just keep myself out of fighting and standing up against the injustice this structure inflicts upon women and transgenders? or should i not talk about caste oppression as i am part of the caste system? If this is the case then we would not be living in a society where women have been able to stand up against injustice that they have been subjected to for all this while. Nor would have we had great men like Dr. Ambedkar and many others who have been instrumental in fighting caste oppression and have created fundamental principles towards fighting caste oppression.
We have also had Marx and others who have spoken against the structures of feudalism, capitalism which has now taken shape into neo-liberalism. Is there a major difference in any of the structures of caste, gender and class, as i see all of them oppressing a majority of the communities around the world. So, if i take a position against caste oppression am i not taking a position against injustice and oppression? and if i am taking a position against injustice and oppression then should i not stand up against any structure that is oppressive in its fundamental nature be it the caste structure, Patriarchy or the capitalist structure. If i believe in the principles of Justice, Equality and Fraternity then should i not stand up against those structures that are a threat to these principles of mine.
These are some of the immediate questions that i have been able to think about, and i do agree that there will be many more questions that people would have after reading this. I would be more than happy to engage with all the rest of the questions with the help of many others which will also help me in strengthening my own resolve and my belief systems.
Finally, i would like to end with a quotation of Desmond Tutu, ” If we are neutral in situations of injustice, we have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality”.
revoltingminds 
All of these questions have come to my mind at some point or the other. Personally, I have never been able to justify CSR to myself. However, I have considered and evaluated a lot of arguments which have come to me from friends and family in favor of it. One of the argument has been that social work as a profession is meant to make bridges with other professions and help them to foster the values that SW stands for. Personally I feel that SW also has an issue with taking political stands on issues. Therefore, I might want form linkages with some other system but I do not think it will entail me going into a completely new value set or believing in it.
The changing the system argument is an old one, and I have considered it from people who have said it. But taking a recent example in college where two us friends were trying to change or question a system within an institute like TISS we were met with very less support from people who want to change the system. I will not say our efforts to change this ‘system’ went useless but then I am still wondering if it was enough.
Apart from that I have also seen organizations who have not been taking fundings (usually they are collectives/movements) and are still working. There are some organizations who choose to critically engage with their funders and ensure that only the funder does not have the upper hand. However, there are organizations which choose to take the funder driven path and I find that too extremely questionable.
Expansion, competition etc. are values of a capitalistic society and I feel this comes at a very relevant time when only yesterday I was sitting for a pre placement talk by a PSU and I told my friend that ‘feminism and capitalism are not compatible!’ and I wonder if this whitewashing of public conscience through CSR would ever make sense to me or not!