Profits Over People
The Corporate Illusion and the Cost to Humanity
We live in a world run by corporations, yet many still cling to the illusion that these entities exist for our benefit. But let’s be clear: corporations are not here for humanity.
They’re here for profit—period.
As you go about your day, interacting with overworked employees, understaffed businesses, and shiny corporate advertisements, it becomes evident that the world we navigate is driven by one goal—making money.
In The Network, there’s a chilling scene where Howard Beale is told the raw truth by Arthur Jensen, the chairman of the corporation that owns the network.
Jensen’s monologue is a powerful reflection of corporate reality:
“There are no nations. There are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no third worlds. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and immane, interwoven, interacting, multivariate, multinational dominion of dollars. Petro-dollars, electro-dollars, multi-dollars, reichmarks, rins, rubles, pounds, and shekels. It is the international system of currency which determines the totality of life on this planet. That is the natural order of things today.”
While fictional, this monologue resonates with the reality we see today. Corporate influence is everywhere—politics, education, and even the law.
In many ways, the borders between countries seem less significant than the power and reach of multinational corporations. [Read my article on Germany and the Holocaust to fully comprehend this]
The Corporate Reality: The Machine That Runs Our Lives
For centuries, corporations have sold us the story that they are here to serve us. They’re not.
As I pointed out in The Comfort Cage, these companies exist solely to serve their own bottom lines. It’s not about human connection or creating a better world—it’s about maximizing efficiency and cutting costs, a trend that began with industrialization.
Factories demanded profit-maximizing processes, leading to labor exploitation and dehumanizing environments. Over time, these practices have crept into every sector, shaping everything from retail to customer service, even the education system.
Take a moment to consider how our education system was restructured to serve these interests: not to produce thinkers, but workers. The goal wasn’t enlightenment but obedience. It’s the same principle that drives corporate culture today.
When you walk into an understaffed store, the overworked employee you see is not just a product of modern times; this has been happening for over a century. Corporations have always been designed to prioritize profits over people.
The only difference now is that the system is more refined—more polished on the outside, but still rotten at the core.
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The Greed Doctrine: Wall Street's Legacy
We just mentioned the movie The Network, and now its time to discuss another movie. In the movie Wall Street, the main character Gordon Gekko’s utters the infamous quote “Greed is good.”
That wasn’t just movie magic. It’s a philosophy that has infected our entire society.
We’re living in a world where profit is prioritized, employees are seen as expendable resources, and customer satisfaction takes a backseat to shareholder value.
This doctrine didn’t just stay in boardrooms—it trickled down to every level of business. Corporations justify this greed by framing it as efficiency, as though squeezing more work out of fewer people is the pinnacle of smart business.
But what we’re really witnessing is an epidemic of dehumanization.
Workers are expected to meet impossible standards, and consumers are sold the illusion that they matter.
The Corporate Person: A Metaphysical Illusion
One thing that often flies under the radar is that corporations have been granted rights as human beings. Legally, a corporation can donate money, own property, and engage in contracts just as an individual can.
Corporations even enjoy certain protections under human rights laws. This, in itself, raises profound questions—how can something lifeless, a construct of legal fiction, be imbued with rights meant for living, breathing beings?
From a metaphysical perspective, this is more than just legal maneuvering. It’s the act of infusing life into a lifeless entity—giving it a voice, power, and influence that rivals, or even exceeds, that of an actual person.
If this isn’t metaphysical magic at its finest—manipulating reality in ways that the general population may not even be fully aware of—then what is?
Think about it: A corporation, this faceless, soulless construct, can wield influence over governments, dictate laws, and shape entire economies.
It can move across borders effortlessly, acting in its own interests, completely disconnected from the humans that make up its workforce or consumer base.
By granting it human rights, we've essentially given life to something that was never alive to begin with. And while real human beings are overworked, underpaid, and seen as expendable resources, the corporation thrives, legally protected and virtually immortal.
This is a kind of magic—a manipulation of reality that few people stop to question. The corporation, in essence, has become a "person" in a way that strips the actual human experience of its value.
The scales tip further in favor of profit and power, while humanity is left to fend for itself in a system that treats real people as disposable.
This is the metaphysical aspect of our reality, and here at Unorthodoxy, we look to discover aspects like this and how to maneuver. Become a paid member to access our esoteric section work.
The Overworked Employee: A System Designed for Profit
We’ve all experienced the following in one form or fashion. You walk into a store and you see an employee behind the counter, juggling multiple tasks. They’re answering phones, taking orders, and restocking shelves all at once.
They offer a polite “I’ll be right with you,” but behind that smile is a person stretched to the limit.
Corporations deliberately understaff, forcing workers to take on the tasks of three or four people. The reason? Hiring more employees would cut into their profits.
This is the reality of our corporate culture: squeezing every drop of labor from as few people as possible. These employees aren’t just overworked; they’re overburdened by unrealistic expectations.
They’re supposed to greet you warmly, multitask flawlessly, and somehow manage to provide stellar service despite doing the job of a small army.
I know because I’ve been there and maybe you have been too. Being that worker in a retail setting handling 20 things while expecting to do everything to perfection.
It’s simply dehumanizing — yet this is the reality of our modern-day society.
Corporate Greed: The Mask Behind the Façade
Corporations go to great lengths to create the illusion that they care. Advertisements constantly bombard us with messages about how much these companies value their customers, employees, and communities.
But the reality is far different.
Take fast-food chains, for example. Their commercials are full of smiling workers happily serving food, but when you walk into the actual restaurants, you see employees frantically trying to keep up with orders, often skipping breaks and juggling multiple tasks.
The gap between advertising and reality couldn’t be more glaring.
This is the reality that’s been created—a profit-driven system that views humanity as an expendable resource. But there’s a way out of this cycle: awareness and action.
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Shifting the Narrative: What Can We Do?
While we may not be able to overhaul the entire corporate system, we can take small steps in our everyday lives. The first and most important thing is to recognize the humanity of those caught in this system. Empathy goes a long way.
When you interact with someone in a retail setting, remember that they are likely overworked, stressed, and doing the job of several people. Show them kindness and patience, recognizing that the system is working against them, too.
The second step is supporting businesses that prioritize human dignity over profit. I’m not suggesting that we can escape capitalism, but we can choose where to spend our money.
Every dollar you spend either fuels the system of exploitation or supports businesses that treat their workers with respect.
At Unorthodoxy, this is what I prioritize: a business that values humanity over profit. My goal is to provide insights that provide value to your life and to others. This is the business model that we need to support — not lifeless corporations
Finally, we must keep talking about this. Corporations rely on our complacency to maintain their power. The more we engage with each other, share what we know, and question the narratives that have been sold to us, the more potential we have for change.
Conclusion: Reclaiming Humanity in a Profit-Driven World
Changing a system that’s been in place for 200 years won’t be easy. But every revolution starts with small steps. By being more empathetic and conscious consumers, we can start to shift the balance back towards people over profits.
The next time you interact with a corporation, remember: behind every transaction, every product, every service, there are real people. Let’s bring humanity back into our corporate world.
At Unorthodoxy, this is exactly what we stand for—challenging the system that prioritizes profits over people and pushing for a more human-centered world. Together, we can reclaim what it means to live and work with dignity.
Thank you for the kind gentleman at Papa Johns this past weekend that inspired this article.
Let’s be great!
Ashe.
Franklin O’Kanu
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"We live in a world run by corporations." Correction, we live in a world run by psychopaths.
This was so good. Thank you. I have tried really hard since 2012 to no longer support the corporate endeavors that are exploitative. It is actual work to research such companies and to opt to spend my money elsewhere. I have learned to go without a bunch of substandard crap that I don’t really need, to learn to make more things myself or to purchase from cottage industries or individuals. I’ve had to work on curbing a lot of impulse spending, too, so as to not facilitate the furthering of the profit over people model. Thanks for writing about this topic.