Companies that practice right livelihood

Upvote:0

Avoid large companies, that's step one. Most major retail companies use some form of legal or illegal slavery (third world sweatshops, prison labor, etc.). Every major technology company, as far as I know, has profited from slavery (again, legal or illegal), building hardware or software for weapons, or both. Large national and international companies will engage in business that (if they were people, not companies) would break the precepts, because that kind of business is profitable, and profit is the entire point of companies.

Smaller companies would be a safer bet, and companies that are at least nominally committed to openness and transparency. Your average small to medium sized business probably isn't running a sweatshop in Indonesia or a cobalt mine in Congo, and most likely also isn't inventing new ways to get people on drugs or writing software to more accurately guide drone strikes. Even small companies, even very small family-owned businesses, will do things that are unethical sometimes, because again, the point of companies is to make a profit. Even nonprofit work is frequently harmful, because nonprofits also have to do things that increase profits (for their donors).

I think if you're looking for an employer where you can feel like you're not contributing to harm (whether in a way that breaks the precepts or otherwise), you're always going to feel like you're in a bit of a grey area. It may be better to just stay away from directly breaking the precepts (don't work at a liquor store, don't work for Raytheon, etc.), work for an employer where you don't feel too conflicted, and not worry about what the company gets up to otherwise.

Upvote:1

"A lay follower should not engage in five types of business. Which five? Business in weapons, business in human beings, business in meat, business in intoxicants, and business in poison." - Vanijja Sutta

Is it really very hard to find companies that don't deal with weapons, human trafficking/ slavery/ prostitution, meat, alcoholic beverages, recreational drugs, and poisons (for malevolent purposes)?

For e.g. the company running Stack Exchange (with offices in New York and London) itself should fulfill these criteria.

UPDATED:

Right Livelihood applies to individual Buddhists, not entities like companies.

It's up to individuals to run businesses or be employed in businesses based on trades allowed by Right Livelihood.

Companies don't practise Buddhism. Individual Buddhists do.

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