The Transparent Olympics

As noted previously on this blog, “transparency” is a heavy-duty part of corporatespeak today. The word has made its way into mission statements. It’s on company websites. Applicants are told in no uncertain terms how transparent an organization is. Although long-term employees know it’s a crock, even they are urged to take the company’s transparency seriously. I couldn’t help thinking about this during the spectacular opening ceremony of the Olympics in Beijing. China’s term for transparency is “harmonious society.” Both terms convey the same theme: We’re open and united and good.

The opening ceremony reminded me of the employer who puts on a show for someone it’s trying to woo from another company, a government or political official it needs some help from, a big shot from the company’s industry who will write an article in a trade publication about the employer’s transparent approach to the workplace, or a group of CEOs who’ve been invited for a visit to talk over what’s right and wrong with corporate America. China has changed, but its opening, welcoming, happy Olympic ceremony was just a show.

What has changed the most about China is its approach to free trade. It’s figured out how to get rich as a country. What it hasn’t figured out is freedom. It’s bound to a past of a subservient citizenry. People are relatively free to make money as long as they don’t say anything or do anything the government doesn’t like. There’s no such thing as freedom of speech or expression. On that front, the Chinese people are as oppressed as they’ve always been.

I will enjoy the Olympics because I enjoy the athletes. I enjoy the products and services of various employers because they’re helpful and sometimes just plain enjoyable. What I don’t enjoy is the lie China is trying to sell to the world or the lie some employers try to sell to its employees and customers. China is the largest authoritarian government in the world, thriving as its people are repressed and burdened with inequality, despite its talk of a harmonious society. Some employers are oppressive and place their profits way ahead of their people, despite their talk of transparency. When a country and employers become rich, they usually get to say whatever they want.

The next time you hear “transparency” or “harmonious society,” think about the smog in China.

1. 

   E. says:

   August 12, 2008 at 9:05 am

   Thanks for this.

   I’ve come to believe over the years that democracy, the bill of rights, due process, etc. in America ends at the front door of the company you work for. Period.

   People that work in this country really live in two different worlds.

   Still the best place to be though.

   If a society is just all about making money, and freedom is not important, materialism / communism, seems to be working pretty well for China. The question as to whether or not economic freedom leads to the aspiration for political freedoms is still an open one. If true, those freak’n communists better watch out.

   Remember Tiananmen Square! Nothing has changed politically since then.
2. 

   John Phillips says:

   August 12, 2008 at 1:18 pm

   E, thanks for weighing in. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, but we have our own problems and guess we always have.

   What’s troubling to me is that it seems that in the USA, money and wealth have become associated too much with freedom. So, if you have freedom, you’ll make a lot of money. The Chinese and others show that’s not necessarily true. Some of the most free people I know don’t have a whole lot of money. They have their heads on straight.

   Unfortunately, if you ask what drives most people in this country, money or freedom, and they’re honest, I think the answer is pretty clear.