
For Profit
A History of Corporations
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Narrated by:
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Dan Woren
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By:
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William Magnuson
A history of how corporate innovation has shaped society, from ancient Rome to Silicon Valley
Americans have long been skeptical of corporations, and that skepticism has only grown more intense in recent years. Meanwhile, corporations continue to amass wealth and power at a dizzying rate, recklessly pursuing profit while leaving society to sort out the costs.
In For Profit, law professor William Magnuson argues that the story of the corporation didn’t have to come to this. Throughout history, he finds, corporations have been purpose-built to benefit the societies that surrounded them. Corporations enabled everything from the construction of ancient Rome’s roads and aqueducts to the artistic flourishing of the Renaissance to the rise of the middle class in the twentieth century. By recapturing this original spirit of civic virtue, Magnuson argues, corporations can help craft a society in which all of us—not just shareholders—benefit from the profits of enterprise.
©2022 William Magnuson (P)2022 Basic BooksListeners also enjoyed...




















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Well-Told History
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I will say: there are clearer, sharper statements elsewhere of the issues. (For example, see the discussion of conflicting interests within corporations in "Bloodsport," above, and the ideas, such as agency theory, it explains.) I do not consider this discussion "advanced." The discussion does not encompass the latest tech waves. It is necessarily sort of fuzzy, though selective, in focus. The viewpoint is a basic politically centrist mid 20th-dentury civics class type view, repeating endlessly how corporations exist for "the public good," but then giving (to my mind) fuzzy examples of what that is. But in sum, it was worth the time, I think especially for someone who has not read a lot of corporate history.
Selected stories give great explanations
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First 1/2 great rest steel downhill
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A good introductory read and gift.
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Did a corporation write this?
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Boring and Repetitive
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That said, it clearly focuses on poorly supported thesis that corporations should seek to help people and the world -- a thesis supported by glowing descriptions of any groups that did that. He also goes over bad stuff corporations have done, which is fair - they do a lot of shit... but having done some bad things doesn't mean their purpose must actually be to "promote the greater good."
This book devolves into more of a morality lecture at points (esp conclusion), however the history it covers is pretty cool. I'd take it for what it is & with a grain of salt.
Author should consider writing about non-profits... I think he'd be a fan.
"Profit is bad, corps need to promote the greater good" bruh
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thinks very highly of himself
boring boring, boring
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