As we well know, corporations have a primary duty to protect and improve shareholder value, regardless of anything (except the law, unless that can be rationalised monetarily).
And is a problem in a pandemic – every corporation does everything they can to stay operating and generating revenue – regardless of what is best for society.
A key factor is debt. Without debt, you can mothball a business, not pay for staff, turn off the lights. During the pandemic that could be the least worse option, compared to trading, if you have full operating costs and reduced revenue. For example, a fairground with social distancing.
But debt is rarely something you can pause. For many businesses during this pandemic, it is not a case of profits versus public welfare, but whether they do not go bankrupt from debt.
Everybody now knows that cruise ships are a risky place to be in a pandemic, and yet for whatever reasons, there are still customers. So what should a cruise company do? If they have debt interest to pay, if they are legally allowed to operate, and they hav willing customers?
This week, deep into the pandemic, two cruise ships in Norway have had virus breakouts.