Industrial multinationals and sustainable development in the South: what are multinational companies responsible for?

Summary How can multinational companies participate in the sustainable development of the countries of the South, as the analysis of their principles of action demonstrates the ambiguity of their approach? The insertion of capitalism in a social and political project must combine utopia (inter and intra-generational equity) and strategy taking into account the conflicts of economic and political interests. This approach defines the responsibility of companies in the economic, social, societal and political fields, with a focus on the cultural dimension of development. States and other institutions must adopt incentive and binding standards. This objective, which concerns the future of the planet, requires the ethical training of elites in the North and the South. The reflection is based on a multidisciplinary approach inspired by the thinking of Michaël Walzer and on surveys in subsidiaries of the Total, Lafarge, Unilever and Michelin groups in Kenya and Nigeria.