Taking Back the Corporation: A Mad as Hell Guide

Not so long ago, corporate America was respected. Our products set the standards for the world; corporations bore a fair share of the tax burden; employees would stay with a company until retirement; customers and workers felt a loyalty to companies like GM, GE, Ford and Procter and Gamble, and to a fair degree that loyalty was reciprocated. Not any more. Taking Back the Corporation reveals what is wrong in corporate America today; the harm that is done, and who the main perpetrators and criminals are. Ralph Estes examines the long-term causes for the perversion of corporate purpose and asks what we, as the consumer and worker should demand. Finally, Estes considers different approaches to reform and argues that these transformations must occur if the social contract promised by capitalism is not to be permanently broken.

Not so long ago, corporate America was respected. Our products set the standards for the world; corporations bore a fair share of the tax burden; employees would stay with a company until retirement; customers and workers felt a loyalty to companies like GM, GE, Ford and Procter and Gamble, and to a fair degree that loyalty was reciprocated.

Not any more.

Taking Back the Corporation reveals what is wrong in corporate America today; the harm that is done, and who the main perpetrators and criminals are. Ralph Estes examines the long-term causes for the perversion of corporate purpose and asks what we, as the consumer and worker should demand. Finally, Estes considers different approaches to reform and argues that these transformations must occur if the social contract promised by capitalism is not to be permanently broken.

Ralph Estes is the author of many books, including Tyranny of the Bottom Line. He is a leading authority on corporate (mis)behavior. Estes is Emeritus Business Professor at the American University in Washington, DC.