For Profit: A History of Corporations (William Magnuson)
The Michael Shermer Show # 321
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.
Shermer and Magnuson discuss: corporations and what they are for • LLCs • Roman corporations • medieval economics • banks • guilds • Credit Mobilier scandal • Dutch and British East India Companies • stocks, bonds, joint stock companies • monopolies, duopolies • assembly lines • multinationals • raiders • private equity firms • start-ups • antitrust, trustbusting • bankruptcy • bitcoin, cryptocurrency • Adam Smith’s critique of corporations • profit and market efficiency • slavery and economics • unions.
William Magnuson is an associate professor at Texas A&M Law School, where he teaches corporate law. Previously, he taught law at Harvard University. The author of Blockchain Democracy, he has written for the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Bloomberg. He lives in Austin, Texas.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
If you enjoy the podcast, please show your support by making a $5 or $10 monthly donation.
https://www.skeptic.com/donate/
SPONSOR
Wondrium
https://wondrium.com/shermer
#michaelshermer
#skeptic
Listen to The Michael Shermer Show via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn.
https://www.skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show/
-
1:34:01
ReasonTV
21 hours agoNico Perrino: When does protesting become a crime?
26.1K7 -
6:38
ND - Woodworking Art
7 hours ago75 Days Build Audi Skysphere Pink For My Daughter's 1st Birthday
35.6K8 -
33:55
Kimberly Guilfoyle
1 day agoLIVE FROM RUMBLE TORONTO, a Conversation with Journalist, Lawyer, and Fellow Rumble Host Glenn Greenwald
95.2K44 -
1:13:22
The Squad
19 hours agoArsenal WILL RUIN UNITED🚨 Chelsea are now DANGEROUS😨 Terry WANTS SOUTHGATE!📝
35.4K4 -
25:45
TheTapeLibrary
1 day ago $0.24 earnedWARNING! Dangerous Games You Shouldn't Play With Spirits
35.8K19 -
1:13
bostonbeaman
21 hours agoBe a Man: Life of a Man 6 Pack
30.8K5 -
13:02
Good Kid Productions
1 day agoDaniel Penny, Jordan Neely, and the Real Reason NYC has so much Crime (mini-doc)
26.2K6 -
10:42
China Uncensored
15 hours ago $1.03 earnedRussia is Planning to Help China Invade Taiwan
23.1K29 -
9:37
Ethical Preparedness
12 hours agoBreaking the Silence: Opening Up About My Weight Gain
19.2K16 -
1:55:27
Fresh and Fit
14 hours agoAfter Hours w/ Ryan Garcia
228K414