Form of the Firm

The Form of the Firm unveils the nature of the corporation as it exists in modern liberal societies. What are we to make of the power that corporations wield over people in modern society? Is such power legitimate? Many think so. To many businessmen and economists, as well as the general public, firms are purely private and economic entities, justified in using all legal means to maximize profit. In The Form of the Firm, Abraham Singer contends that such a view rests on a theoretical foundation that, while quite subtle, is deeply flawed. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, corporations are not natural outgrowths of the free market. Instead, Singer invites us to see corporations as political institutions that correct market inefficiencies through mechanisms normally associated with government -hierarchy, power, and state-sanctioned authority. Corporations exist primarily toincrease economic efficiency, but they do this in ways that distinguish them from the markets in which they operate. Corporations serve economic ends, but through political means. Because of this, Singer argues that they also must be structured and obliged to uphold the social and political values that enabletheir existence and smooth-running in the first place: individual autonomy, moral and social equality, and democratic norms and institutions.A profound and timely rethinking of what a corporation actually is and how power within it ought to be structured and exercised, The Form of the Firm will reshape our understanding of political theory, corporate governance, corporate law, and business ethics.

The Form of the Firm is an extraordinary and highly original book. It is one of the most rigorous and comprehensive interdisciplinary works that combines normative political theory with business ethics and economics addressing issues relating to justices in and of the buisness firm., Abraham Singer's book is comprehensive, original, and overall a highly impressive articulation of how political philosophy, legal theory, and economics intersect when it comes to our understanding and evaluation of firms. I expect it to become a valued and influential resource for political philosophers working on the nature of employment or the variety of proximate topics also covered by this book., The large thesis of The Form of the Firm is compelling, the writing is brisk, and the argument is grounded in the key works of several disciplines. The book will make a fine sparring partner and resource for the ongoing task of describing and appraising the business corporation, [a] virtuoso work ... a powerful, grounded call for reform ... This book requires repeated reading. It is dense and deliberate, but those interested in political philosophy and political economy will find it worthy of the investment ... Essential., Across ideological lines, political theory about economic questions is often strangely individualistic, imagining a world with consumers, entrepreneurs, workers, the recipients of income checks from the government, but no meso-level institutions, no corporations. Abraham Singer's The Form of the Firm is an outstanding response to this problem. Working at the border of political theory and normative political economy, Singer does something that is rare, valuable, and impressive: he takes seriously the importance and function of the business corporation in the course of developing a critical normative theory of its functioning. This is a decisively important contribution, a book to reckon with." -Jacob T. Levy, Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory and Professor of Political Science, McGill University

Abraham A. Singer is currently assistant professor of Management at Loyola University Chicago's Quinlan School of Business. His research and teaching interests lie within and between business ethics and political theory.