Business
Consumer-goods giants spend heavily on marketing, brands and research. That raises a real question: do they respond to what people already want, or create the desires they then satisfy? The answer decides whether they bend buying habits out of shape.
A single maker of foods, soaps and personal-care products can end up with its brands in one out of every two households on earth by selling across more than a hundred countries. At that reach, a company's choices shape how ordinary people eat, wash and care for themselves.
A large company's decisions mean choosing between the interests of shareholders, employees, suppliers and customers. Who runs the firm and what they aim for decides whose interests win.