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Worldwide survey reveals fear of big business influence

A majority of the world fears large companies have too much influence on the decisions of governments and they want a crackdown on their influence, according to a survey on Wednesday.

The Ipsos Reid poll of 22,000 people living in 22 countries with leading and rapidly growing economies indicated that public opinion has turned against national and multinational firms. As such, they could face government interventions and tighter regulatory incursions this year with the fierce backing of engaged and influential citizens, said the pollster.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they believe large firms "have too much influence on decisions of their government," and 69 percent believe "large companies are even more powerful than governments."

As well, 72 percent said their government should be more aggressive in regulating corporations' activities. But just over half said their big industries "should be controlled by government." US citizens were most worried about the clout of big business, while people in Asia expressed the least concern.

"There weren't any significant events" last year to help explain their views, Darrell Bricker, president of Ipsos Reid Public Affairs, said. "It's really more of a sense of growing public empowerment."

In an e-mail, he explained: "Comparisons over time show that practically every institution ... has experienced a significant decline in status with the public." "The institutions in which citizen-consumers once blindly placed their trust are now called upon to prove their worthiness. Trust is no longer given but earned, and even at that, it's dispensed only conditionally and situationally," he said.
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