Joachim,

With all due respect, this sounds like fiction because it is. Your definition of the shareholder-value-maximizing company is one that seeks profit without regard for any impact it may have on anyone or anything else. This is a cartoon. Companies pursue profits within the context of the laws and mores of their societies. If they go too far, there will be lawsuits, adverse regulation, and social condemnation.

Case in point: The major oil companies you see as villains have high Environmental, Social and Governance scores. They know they face big penalties if they act irresponsibly. Your idea that a little socialism would make things better is belied by the appalling environmental record of socialist economies.

Who cares more about the environmental impact of their actions, an executive from an oil company in our relatively free market or a government bureaucrat who will never be sued or fired for any mistake he makes?