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Introduction:

&ldquo;All the things I could do. If I had a little money. In a rich man&#39;s world&rdquo;. 
&ldquo;Money can&#39;t buy me love&rdquo;. 
&nbsp; 
These are two views of the power of money in popular songs (from Abba and the Beatles). 
&nbsp; 
The first part of the documentary &ldquo;The Corporation 1&rdquo; (available on the server) views the corporation as being similar to a sports team &ndash; everyone pulling together for a common goal; which in the case of a corporation is to make as much profit as possible for the corporation owners or shareholders. 
&nbsp; 
Today we know that corporations, for good or bad, have major influences on our lives. Corporations have enormous economic power - of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are corporations while only 49 are countries, based on a comparison of corporate sales and national GDPs. 
&nbsp; 
Corporations can be agents of positive change &ndash; for example, they can be major employers &ndash; and behave ethically and treat their workers well). A concern is when they become excessively large and concentrated in terms of ownership of an industry and in wealth. Then they can become agents of negative change, as seems to have happened in many places around the world.&nbsp; 
Their drive for profit may contradict any social good, even though the corporation may claim that the drive for profit is also good for society. 
Corporations can influence the general population via economic control of the mainstream media. They can also influence public policy and the action of governments through their economic power.

Directive:

This task is scheduled for 6 hours. 
&nbsp;
<ol>
	<li>Read file: &ldquo;How Moneyed interests create poor nations&rdquo; by Michael Parenti. (2 hours)</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; When transnational corporations and banks invest in the Third World&nbsp; 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -Who benefits from this?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -What are the consequences for the Poor in the countries where they invest? 
&nbsp;
<ol>
	<li>Read file: &ldquo;Billionaires and mega-corporations behind immense land grab in Africa&rdquo;, from <a href="http://www.alternet.org/">www.alternet.org</a>, March 24th 2010. (1 hour)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Why are African countries selling off their productive agricultural land?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;- What are the consequences for local people? 
&nbsp;
<ol>
	<li>Read file: &ldquo;Chinese workers pay for Wal-Mart&rsquo;s low prices&rdquo; from www.Washingtonpost.com.&nbsp; (1 hour)</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Who in the US benefits from this strategy? 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Who in the US is it a problem for? 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; -&nbsp; Answer the same questions for China.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;
<ol>
	<li>Choose a big company or corporation from your own country.(1 hour)</li>
</ol>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Does this company benefit the people of your own country? 
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - Explain your answers. 
&nbsp;
<ol>
	<li>Send your answers to your teacher. (1 hour)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
&nbsp; 
Files:
<ol>
	<li>&ldquo;How moneyed interests create Poor Nations&rdquo; by Michael Parenti, page 49-56.</li>
	<li>John Vidal: &ldquo;Billionaires and mega-corporations behind immense land grab in Africa&rdquo; from http://www.alternet.org, 24 March 2010.</li>
	<li>&ldquo;Chinese workers pay for Wal-Mart&rsquo;s low prices&rdquo; from Washingtonpost.com.</li>
</ol>
&nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;

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