The Corporation
Intro
This is a great and relatively balanced review of the corporate form and function. Corporations come in many forms - here the discussion is specific to public corporations: publically-traded (Initial Public Offering), limited liability corporations. Not mom and pop store LLCs, nonprofits, partnerships, partnerships, non-stock corporations, or others. The point is - there already exist corporate forms that are relatively benign, and leave out the most controversial aspect. As The Spinozanator, one reviewer above stated, "Moreover, by the legal way a corporation is set up, its only motive is profit. Every action taken, no matter how altruistic it looks, has to ultimately be a search for profits. Otherwise, the corporation is subject to litigation by the shareholders."
Review
- See MJ's comment to one of the reviewers in the Amazon link above:
"I wonder if it is possible today to have a politician accept a corporate donation with a disclaimer, "I accept your donation under the condition that you will not under any circumstances in the future expect or require me to pass legislation that privileges you - over making a better world for everybody. I will hold you accountable to this when you ask me for favors in the future, so please know - that when you think about asking me to rewrite laws in your favor in the future - that I will refuse your offer to write those laws." It may be possible to go against lobbyists in this way, and lobbying may thus be reformed as a mechanism to provide education to government servants, rather than to bribe them legally.
This would of course require utmost ethical conviction on the part of the politician. I would love to see this happen in my lifetime - it would certainly be inspiring to see the world change as higher ethical standard become the norm in society. It's up to all of us, we're all in this together.