2
neighborhood security watches, and programs for the elderly. Presumably, companies that do
pitch in will earn some measure of gratitude from the mayor.
A third example involves Pfizer pharmaceutical company. In January 2002, Pfizer
announced a major new philanthropic initiative aimed at low-income elderly Americans.
Responding to growing concern over the skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs, Pfizer and
other companies volunteered to provide poor elderly citizens with drugs at massive discounts.
The announcement came at a time when Congress was (and continues to be) under enormous
pressure to do something about drug affordability and coincides with a massive pharmaceutical
lobbying campaign to protect their interests in turbulent political times. While some in Congress
are calling for significant new regulation of pharmaceutical pricing, others suggest that voluntary
steps such as Pfizer’s could substitute for additional government intervention.
These examples all represent ways in which corporate civic or philanthropic activities
intersect with the political arena. Yet none would be captured by existing models of corporate
political power, which assume business power flows from PAC contributions, soft money
donations, lobbying muscle, informational advantages, or a structural “privileged position.”
Take the DeLay Foundation fundraiser. This “political philanthropy” is charitable giving that
helps the donor obtain access to or build goodwill with politicians. Sometimes a philanthropic
donation to a politician’s favorite charity can provide the firm with direct entrée to the politician,
as with the DeLay case. In other cases, philanthropic donations can earn a politician’s favor by
supporting an organization dear to his heart, his ideological or policy agenda, or a family
member’s livelihood. In both respects, philanthropy can give firms potential influence with
important lawmakers.
Prevailing accounts of corporate power miss another way in which social responsibility
efforts might translate into political influence. Here Mayor Bloomberg’s bind is instructive.
Much of what corporations do in the name of CSR – supporting local schools, sponsoring health
care clinics, cleaning up parks, underwriting downtown revitalization – constitutes community
problem-solving. Good corporate citizens act, in effect, as partners to public officials in
providing the public goods for which voters hold elected officials accountable. Being viewed as
a helpful partner can thus improve a firm’s standing with key lawmakers. In New York City, we
would assume that companies that answer Bloomberg’s call for help would at least get a
Convention