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Biography & Autobiography Business

The New Corporation

How "Good" Corporations Are Bad for Democracy

by (author) Joel Bakan

Publisher
Penguin Group Canada
Initial publish date
Sep 2020
Category
Business, 21st Century, Corporate & Business History
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780735238848
    Publish Date
    Sep 2020
    List Price
    $19.95

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Description

Silver WINNER of the 2021 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Ethics

WINNER of the 2021 Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes

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, Bakan lays bare a litany of immoral corporate actions and documents corporate power grabs dressed up as social initiatives. He makes
clear the urgency of the problem of the corporatization of society itself and shows how people are fighting back and making gains on a grassroots level.

About the author

Joel Bakan is a professor of law at the University of British Columbia.

Joel Bakan's profile page

Awards

  • Winner, BC Book Prize's Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes
  • Winner, Axiom Business Book Awards - Business Ethics - Silver

Editorial Reviews

Silver WINNER of the 2021 Axiom Business Book Awards in Business Ethics
WINNER of the 2021 Jim Deva Prize for Writing That Provokes

Praise for The New Corporation:

“A very important book: an arresting study directed to a central issue of the times.”
Noam Chomsky

“Impeccably researched and beautifully written.”
Wendy Brown

“Vital reading for all who are concerned to protect the public good, life, and freedom.”
Vandana Shiva
“A rigorously argued manifesto against corporate capitalism.”
Kirkus Reviews

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