Abstract
We argue that the concept of transparency is part of the “positivity mindset” which can be seen as a feature of the infusion of capitalism within the social fabric and has become enmeshed as a pervasive force in modern society. The notion of capitalism has emerged as a virtuous system of rules finely tuned to produce beneficial societal outcomes, with the notion of transparency understood as overtly positive, and the more of it, the better. The idea of transparency as a social norm is explained and its perverse effects on corporate accountability and true morally responsible corporate behaviour are critiqued. Philosophical arguments regarding morality and ethical values underpin our position by examining conditions of narcissism and questioning the idea that moral goodness equates with truth. Philosophy also offers the possibility of alternative approaches to the blind conformity associated with following, uncritically, the social (dominant) norms, such as transparency, that are externally imposed.
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This “sameness” does not refer to Han’s homogenous “hell of the same” or Battialle’s reactive science of the heterogeneous. Rather, the idea is more closely related to the notion of “truth processes” stressing that we all come into being in the same way, regardless our differences.
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Janning, F., Khlif, W., Ingley, C. (2020). Transparency: A Moral Concept. In: The Illusion of Transparency in Corporate Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35780-1_2
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