Notes on the Introduction to The Corporation by Joel Bakan
By Richard Eriksson on May 10, 2004 - 2:47pm
The following is part of chapter notes to The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power by Joel Bakan, the book selected for One Book, One Vancouver.
The introduction is only three pages and sets out the premise of the book:
that the corporation is an institution—a unique structure and set of imperatives that direct the actions of people within it. It is a also a legal institution one whose existence and capacity to operate depend on the law. The corporation's legally defined mandate is to pursue, relentlessly and without exception, its own self interest, regardless of the often harmful consequences it might cause to others.
Bakan also sets out the structure of the book, and warns that his book is not an academic study (although in the footnotes and bibliography he does cite academic works) and that he is not covering small corporate organizations such as small businesses, privately-held companies (large and small) and non-profit organizations (large and small). His focus is the large, publicly-traded corporate institution.
--part of chapter notes to The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power by Joel Bakan
