Economy, Industry, Innovation and Technical Democracy

This paper acknowledges that ethical questions raised by ICT are so fundamental that they include the question of the anthropological changes caused by communications tools. It then looks at the motivation of large companies to discharge their social responsibilities. The paper also argues that Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are no longer the main decision makers for fundamental strategic corporate choices and that decisions are driven by financial markets. The section on financial markets analyses the reasons for the short-term bias in financial analysts' positions. Finally, a brief look at a specific EU policy (RFID) shows that economic development is at the forefront of the EU agenda and that ethical considerations are seen as mere constraints.