At the beginning of the 21st century, it appears the corporation reigns supreme as the most powerful institution in the world. What's so bad about that?This question raises issues concerning, first, the mechanics of corporate power. With evidently no motive other than profit, the corporation and the market have unleashed dramatic social change across political borders and cultural differences. If we understand how corporate power works, could we imagine ways to harness it for the greater good? Second, this question highlights corporate power’s legitimacy. Many economists and policy-makers argue that corporations' reach stems from the efficiency of capitalist markets (for products, jobs, and capital investment), a condition to which the world’s citizens have largely consented. Is this true? Or does the corporation exert non-market (and thus illegitimate) power over politics, culture, citizenship, the environment, and other spheres of society? |
| To address these issues, we 'll examine various theories and case studies of corporate power. Our sites of investigation include the U.S. government and policy network, regional political institutions like the European Union, global free trade agreements, the marketing and advertising sectors, the U.S. food system, and the 2016 presidential elections. We'll also spend some time investigating whether global finance has tamed the economic and political autonomy of the traditional corporation, to possibly ominous ends. |
Learning objectives
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