One day back in March this year, as I was sat in my apartment near the centre of Zagreb, contemplating the question of authentic corporate social responsibility (an issue to which I have dedicated, one way or another, close to 20 years), I was suddenly disturbed by dramatic noises from the direction of the public square below. The date was March 31, otherwise known as the European Day of Action Against Capitalism, and looking down from my balcony, I could see a group of some hundred or so mainly young people waving black and red flags and carrying huge banners with anti-capitalism messages. This was accompanied by shouts on the loud speaker such as “down with capitalism!” and a couple of watchful police escorts. The whole scene gave me a somewhat unpleasant sense of déjà vu, since I am old enough to remember our paradise version of communism when we were brainwashed on a daily basis with much the same slogans. So, as we explore the fuzzy concept of the authenticity of corporate actions towards a better society, highly authentic protests against capitalism are taking place all over the world - even under my balcony.
