The New Corporation: How 'Good' Corporations Are Bad for Democracy

How "Good" Corporations Are Bad for Democracy

Cover Art for 9781984899736, The New Corporation: How 'Good' Corporations Are Bad for Democracy by Joel Bakan
ISBN: 9781984899736
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 22 September, 2020
Format: eBook
Language: English
Editions:
3 other editions of this product

A very important book, an arresting study directed to a central issue of the times. --Noam Chomsky From the author of The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power comes this deeply informed and unflinching look at the way corporations have slyly rebranded themselves as socially conscious entities ready to tackle society's problems, while CEO compensation soars, income inequality is at all-time highs, and democracy sits in a precarious situation. Over the last decade and a half, business leaders, Silicon Valley executives, and the Davos elite have been calling for a new kind of capitalism. The writing was on the wall. With income inequality soaring, wages stagnating, and a climate crisis escalating, it was no longer viable to justify harming the environment and ducking taxes in the name of shareholder value. Business leaders realized that to get out in front of these problems, they had to make social and environmental values the very core of their messaging. Their essential pitch was: Who could be better suited to address major societal issues than efficiently run corporations? There is just one small problem with their doing well by doing good pitch. Corporations are still, ultimately, answerable to their shareholders, and doing well always comes first. This essential truth lies at the heart of Joel Bakan's argument. In lucid and engaging prose, he lays bare a litany of dangerous corporate actions and documents how increasing corporate freedom encroaches on individual liberty and democracy. Whether it's the advance of privatization efforts seeking to profit from education and water provision, or the invasive data-mining operations of tech giants, we see how corporations strengthen their influence and send society on an inexorable path towards the economization of everything. Bakan also addresses how the novel Coronavirus pandemic reveals major flaws in our social infrastructure. Beyond diagnosing major problems, in The New Corporation Bakan narrates a hopeful path forward. He reveals how citizens around the world are fighting back and making gains through democratic means, and in ways that benefit average citizens rather than the corporate elite.

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