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Mohrbooks Literary Agency
Sebastian Ritscher |
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FOR PROFIT
A History of Corporations
A history of how corporate innovation has shaped society, from ancient Rome to Silicon Valley.
We have long been skeptical of large corporations, and polls show that skepticism growing ever more intense year over year. Meanwhile, corporations - and the titans who lead them - continue to amass wealth and power, recklessly pursuing profit for a tiny percentage of shareholders and spending significant sums lobbying political figures to stave off regulation.
Corporate law professor William Magnuson argues that, for most of history, corporations have not primarily been amoral entities created solely for the relentless pursuit of profit, but rather public institutions designed to promote the societies or governments that granted them charter. In For Profit, Magnuson shows us how the corporation - a structure that, in its most basic sense, involves a group of people coming together to fund an endeavor that could not be achieved alone - has evolved since its beginnings in the ancient world. From the creation of the first corporation in Ancient Rome to the East India company's invention of the joint stock company to the rise of venture capital in the internet age, Magnuson argues, corporations have helped us thrive, creating the conditions for the artistic flourishing of the Renaissance and the rise of the middle class in the 20th century.
As corporations have evolved over time, however, so too have the ways in which unscrupulous managers have figured out how to "game the system," extracting wealth without providing value in return. What happens in this next chapter of the global economy, Magnuson concludes, depends on whether we can return to the original public-minded spirit of the corporation, or whether we have sunk irrevocably into the swamp of high profit at all costs.
Epic in scope and filled with compelling stories, For Profit illuminates the essential roles corporations have played, both for good and evil, in the making of the modern world.
William Magnuson is an associate professor at Texas A&M Law School, where he teaches corporate law. Previously, he taught law at Harvard University. The author of Blockchain Democracy, he has written for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Bloomberg. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Corporate law professor William Magnuson argues that, for most of history, corporations have not primarily been amoral entities created solely for the relentless pursuit of profit, but rather public institutions designed to promote the societies or governments that granted them charter. In For Profit, Magnuson shows us how the corporation - a structure that, in its most basic sense, involves a group of people coming together to fund an endeavor that could not be achieved alone - has evolved since its beginnings in the ancient world. From the creation of the first corporation in Ancient Rome to the East India company's invention of the joint stock company to the rise of venture capital in the internet age, Magnuson argues, corporations have helped us thrive, creating the conditions for the artistic flourishing of the Renaissance and the rise of the middle class in the 20th century.
As corporations have evolved over time, however, so too have the ways in which unscrupulous managers have figured out how to "game the system," extracting wealth without providing value in return. What happens in this next chapter of the global economy, Magnuson concludes, depends on whether we can return to the original public-minded spirit of the corporation, or whether we have sunk irrevocably into the swamp of high profit at all costs.
Epic in scope and filled with compelling stories, For Profit illuminates the essential roles corporations have played, both for good and evil, in the making of the modern world.
William Magnuson is an associate professor at Texas A&M Law School, where he teaches corporate law. Previously, he taught law at Harvard University. The author of Blockchain Democracy, he has written for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Bloomberg. He lives in Austin, Texas.
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Book
Published 2022-11-08 by Basic Books |