They do listen. But people who "do" things don't necessarily see the big picture. And their interested might be misaligned with company mission, let alone shareholder interests.
I recall when I changed my mind on that topic. My employer at the time decided to change the logo. They hired a designer, designer did somewhat radical change, the new logo was accepted. Most employees were furious, new logo is stupid, too playful, it is betrayal of traditions, yada yada. Still management decided to proceed with new logo.
And in a year, old logo looked like we are still in the 80s. Virtually nobody wanted that old logo back.
At least I had a courage to admit I should not demand changes in the areas I don't really understand.
And realistically, if I understood these things, it would be me who does the hiring, not the opposite.
> only listen to the people whose only interest is extracting as much money out of the operation as possible
People who extract money hire people who know who should be listened and who shouldn't. Many people who "do" things really shouldn't be listened on any topic outside of their area of responsibility (a cook may have an opinion how to move goods more efficiently, but it's likely he or she is wrong). I mean, everyone should listened, but their speech should not necessary be followed.
> Of course, companies also essentially make the laws, so "illegal" is a very shallow line.
Well, man, I believe the world is much more complicated than this. There are too many players in the field, and not all of them are companies, and moreover, different companies want different conflicting laws (imagine Apple laws vs Google laws — Apple wants more privacy, Google wants more freedom to deal with data).
So, I believe your world view is too deeply flawed, so there's probably no point to discuss further. Cheers!