We need to reimagine how we think about the _firm_. The dominant view
of today sees corporations as relentlessly driven profit-maximizers;
and, while many see this as an unfortunate reality, others maintain
that a sophisticated understanding of law, economics, and morality
reveals that corporations have a duty to act in this fashion. Either
way, the dominant view is out of step with the needs and values of
society. People, and especially members of younger generations, are
clamoring for more meaningful and ethically engaged work. We also have
recent memory of a global financial crisis that shook confidence in
the free market system, and relatedly, there has subsequently been a
diminution in trust in liberal democratic institutions and values.
This work in philosophy and applied ethics responds to these events by
presenting a _persons-based_ theory of the firm. It views the
for-profit corporation as a corporate person standing in moral
relationships with human persons rather than as a purely calculating
or even psychopathic actor. It fills out this theory by exploring the
normative dimensions of the firm's relationships with key stakeholders
such as customers, employees, and shareholders; and, it recognizes a
special importance to the relationship between the firm and the
citizens of a democratic society, and the role this relationship plays
in understanding all of the others. The resulting way of thinking
about corporations is more attuned to their duties within democratic
society and more ethically empowering for their personnel.
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A Theory of the Firm in Democratic Society
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780198939412
Publisert
2025
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Oxford University Press Academic UK
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter