Corporate Power in Civil Society

by David Sciulli

Overview

The corporate mega-mergers of the 1980s and 1990s raise many troubling questions for social scientists and legal scholars. Do corporate globalism and the new, streamlined corporation help or hinder the development of civil society? Does the new power that increasingly deregulated businesses wield undermine the rights of citizens, or is this threat being exaggerated? Who has the authority to get things done in a corporation's name and who can be held legally responsible for a corporation's misbehavior? What role, if any, should the courts play in strengthening the rights of individuals who challenge the actions of big business?
David Sciulli maps the legal limits of corporate power in our democratic society, and explores the role of the corporate judiciary in creating public policy. He argues that the judiciary must be more vigilant and act to curb corporate abuses. He demonstrates that when corporations exercise their private power in civil society, they are just as capable as the state of exercising it in ways that are dangerous, arbitrary, and challenge the basic institutional arrangements of society. Finally, Sciulli calls for sociologists to involve themselves more deeply in issues of corporate governance and commit their discipline to influencing the decisions of the courts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814797860
Publisher:	New York University Press
Publication date:	01/01/2001
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.23(d)

About the Author

David Sciulli is Professor of Sociology at Texas A&M University. He is the author of Societal Constitutionalism.

What People are Saying About This

William T. Allen

David Sciulli's sociology brings to an analysis of the larger issues that corporate governance presents the perspective of both the historian and the philosopher. His richly detailed account of the evolution of corporate law and governance is most useful in resetting--broadening--the frame within these issues are debated. This book makes a valuable contribution.
—William T. Allen Professor and Director, Center for Law & Business New York University

From the Publisher

"Corporate Power in Civil Society is well-written, and it brims with interesting insights. Sciulli's careful attention to the broader civil context of corporations and his close attention to the cases he examines make him an excellent sleuth for uncovering the reasons for and the implications of judicial behavior. In drawing on sociological theories to inform corporate law, the book makes a refreshing and timely contribution."

-Contemporary Sociology,

"This book is a significant contribution to . . . broad political thought, one that should stimulate a great deal more."

-New Political Science,

"His most innovative contribution is to fuse sociological theories of civil society with corporate law."

-Social Control and Law

Editorial Reviews

"His most innovative contribution is to fuse sociological theories of civil society with corporate law."

Social Control and Law

"This book is a significant contribution to . . . broad political thought, one that should stimulate a great deal more."

New Political Science

"Corporate Power in Civil Society is well-written, and it brims with interesting insights. Sciulli's careful attention to the broader civil context of corporations and his close attention to the cases he examines make him an excellent sleuth for uncovering the reasons for and the implications of judicial behavior. In drawing on sociological theories to inform corporate law, the book makes a refreshing and timely contribution."

Contemporary Sociology

"Corporate Power in Civil Society is well-written, and it brims with interesting insights. Sciulli's careful attention to the broader civil context of corporations and his close attention to the cases he examines make him an excellent sleuth for uncovering the reasons for and the implications of judicial behavior. In drawing on sociological theories to inform corporate law, the book makes a refreshing and timely contribution."

-Contemporary Sociology

"His most innovative contribution is to fuse sociological theories of civil society with corporate law."

-Social Control and Law

"This book is a significant contribution to . . . broad political thought, one that should stimulate a great deal more."

-New Political Science

From the Publisher

A social theorist's perspective on how private governance of corporations is weakening the basic institutions of democratic civil societies, especially as demonstrated in the wave of hostile takeovers in the 1980s. Focuses on when and how the courts mediate the consequences of corporate governance in the US, as well as their counterparts in Europe and Japan, examining the connection between specialized literature of corporate law with literature of civil society. Sciulli (sociology, Texas A&M U.) attempts to draw an alternative to legal conservatives' rhetoric of corporate contract as well as to liberals' corporate social responsibility. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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