The Corporation : The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power

The inspiration for the film that won the 2004 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary, The Corporation contends that the corporation is created by law to function much like a psychopathic personality, whose destructive behavior, if unchecked, leads to scandal and ruin. Over the last 150 years the corporation has risen from relative obscurity to become the world’s dominant economic institution. Eminent Canadian law professor and legal theorist Joel Bakan contends that today's corporation is a pathological institution, a dangerous possessor of the great power it wields over people and societies. In this revolutionary assessment of the history, character, and globalization of the modern business corporation, Bakan backs his premise with the following observations: -The corporation’s legally defined mandate is to pursue relentlessly and without exception its own economic self-interest, regardless of the harmful consequences it might cause to others. -The corporation’s unbridled self-interest victimizes individuals, society, and, when it goes awry, even shareholders and can cause corporations to self-destruct, as recent Wall Street scandals reveal. -Governments have freed the corporation, despite its flawed character, from legal constraints through deregulation and granted it ever greater authority over society through privatization. But Bakan believes change is possible and he outlines a far-reaching program of achievable reforms through legal regulation and democratic control. Featuring in-depth interviews with such wide-ranging figures as Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman, business guru Peter Drucker, and cultural critic Noam Chomsky, The Corporation is an extraordinary work that will educate and enlighten students, CEOs, whistle-blowers, power brokers, pawns, pundits, and politicians alike. "Bakan does such a good job of creating awareness that [The Corporation] can't help but be a call to action." —USA Today "The corporation, according to Joel Bakan, is the monster that can swallow civilization -- greedy, exploitive, and unstoppable. We are all its potential victims, which is why we must all understand how the corporate form makes it so difficult to control its abuses." —Alan M. Dershowitz, Felix "This incisive study should be read carefully and pondered. And it should be a stimulus to constructive action." —Noam Chomsky, Ph.D., professor of linguistics, MIT, and author of 9-11 Joel Bakan is professor of law at the University of British Columbia. A Rhodes Scholar and former law clerk to Chief Justice Brian Dickson of the Supreme Court of Canada, he holds law degrees from Oxford, Harvard, and Dalhousie Universities. An internationally renowned legal authority, Bakan has written widely on law and its social and economic impact. He is the cocreator and writer of a documentary film and television miniseries called The Corporation, which is based on the book.

Over the last 150 years the corporation has risen from relative obscurity to become the world's dominant economic institution. Eminent Canadian law professor and legal theorist Joel Bakan contends that today's corporation is a pathological institution, a dangerous possessor of the great power it wields over people and societies.

In this revolutionary assessment of the history, character, and globalization of the modern business corporation, Bakan backs his premise with the following observations:

• The corporation's legally defined mandate is to pursue relentlessly and without exception its own economic self-interest, regardless of the harmful consequences it might cause to others.
• The corporation's unbridled self-interest victimizes individuals, society, and, when it goes awry, even shareholders and can cause corporations to self-destruct, as recent Wall Street scandals reveal.
• Governments have freed the corporation, despite its flawed character, from legal constraints through deregulation and granted it ever greater authority over society through privatization.

But Bakan believes change is possible and he outlines a far-reaching program of achievable reforms through legal regulation and democratic control.

Featuring in-depth interviews with such wide-ranging figures as Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman, business guru Peter Drucker, and cultural critic Noam Chomsky, The Corporation is an extraordinary work that will educate and enlighten students, CEOs, whistle-blowers, power brokers, pawns, pundits, and politicians alike.

In this compelling opus on reform, driven by extensive research, authoritative anecdotes, and insider interviews, eminent law professor and legal theorist Joel Bakan points out that as a legal and economic entity, the modern corporation is essentially pathological in nature, placing the profit motive above any social value or accountability. But a change is in the wind. The recent spate of corporate scandals are causing companies to consider and put into effect a heightened social responsibility. In THE CORPORATION, Bakan backs his premise with the following claims: Corporations are required by law to elevate their own interests above those of others, making them prone to prey upon and exploit others without regard for legal rules or moral limits; The corporation's unbridled self-interest victimizes individuals, the environment and even shareholders, and can cause corporations to self-destruct; Governments have abdicated control over the corporation, despite its flawed character, by freeing it from legal constraints through deregulation and by granting it ever greater authority over society through privatisation Despite the structural failings found in many corporations, Bakan believes that change is possible and outlines a far-reaching programme to bring reform through legal regulation and democratic control. A Profile Of The Modern Corporation Theorizes That Businesses Are Essentially Pathological In Nature And Place Profits Above Accountability, Citing The Flaws Of Such Practices As Deregulation And Privatization. 1. The Corporation's Rise To Dominance -- 2. Business As Usual -- 3. The Externalizing Machine -- 4. Democracy Ltd. -- 5. Corporations Unlimited -- 6. Reckoning. Joel Bakan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Master And Use Copy. Digital Master Created According To Benchmark For Faithful Digital Reproductions Of Monographs And Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. Http://purl.oclc.org/dlf/benchrepro0212