Could our economy function if businesses operated transparently?

Go see the documentary, Food, Inc for a partial answer to this question. 6 huge corporations control 90% of our food supply (Montsanto, Cargill, among others) and operate as unbenevolent dictators.

@will We could have a functioning economy yes but I don’t know that the economy we have currently could function that way as it is based so highly on protecting these corporations. In any circumstance I’d love to see your idea come to fruition.

It would be somewhat more difficult, because there are too many ways to take advantage of each other if the details of their operations and such were public knowledge.

I don’t think that every transaction should be ‘transparent’ until people develop the ability to be honorable in all their dealings.

Right now not enough people are demanding that kind of action from companies. If demand grew enough for businesses to behave in a certain way they could be certified by a private org. for meeting that community’s standards. Many orgs. already do this, such as PETA and probably many others. If this is an issue that you care about I suggest joining these groups and following their guidelines.

requiring that all companies do what you wish seem to be imposing your values on others. Many people might see GM food as ok, don’t mind the hidden nature of it all, and do not ask for transparency. Don’t take away their options or raise the price of their food for your beliefs. After all, if you were in the minority (and you probably are in many areas) you would not, or do not like other values imposed on you.