Description
Book SynopsisThis stimulating book offers an astute analysis of corporate governance from both a historical and a philosophical point of view. Exploring how the modern corporation developed, from Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages up to the present day, Javier Reyes identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the mainstream theory of the firm as put forward by the law and economics school of thought.
Demystifying the scientific aspirations of neoclassical economics as understood and used by legal scholars, this book offers readers the foundations on which to build their own conception of what corporations are and should be. Reyes argues that by belonging to political philosophy, corporate governance is essentially political, and thus requires a multidisciplinary approach for its study and practice.
Reframing Corporate Governance will be essential reading for academics and students of company law and corporate governance, especially those interested in entrepreneurship, radical democracy, evolutionary approaches to legal theory and business anthropology. Those interested in corporate social responsibility, business and management, and philosophy will also find this a valuable read.
Trade Review'As Javier Reyes points out, ''The corporation may not be a mystery of eternity or life, but it is a window into the big questions of human nature.'' The author of this book depicts an impressive historical timeline from Ancient Rome to this day. Each page of the book portrays the author's vast knowledge, whether it is about organizational theory, economic history, philosophy, psychology or legal history. However, Reyes' book manages to avoid any academic dreariness. Reyes draws a set of guidelines for a new type of a general theory, without trying to offer ultimate truths. He is an excellent pedagogue putting forth the right questions and thus allowing the reader to come up with the answers by himself. During my university years, books of this quality were scarce.' --Wille Rydman, MP, Finnish Parliament
'Javier Reyes offers new scholarly and theoretical perspectives on corporate law and governance. He seeks to reframe our thinking by exposing political and ideological features of mainstream law and economics and their effects on corporate governance thinking. This impressive book provides new analytical tools and is essential reading for corporate lawyers.'
--Roman Tomasic, University of South Australia
Table of ContentsContents: Foreword Introduction 1. The disnature of the firm: how did we end up here? 2. Do not trust anyone who tells you it is the end of history 3. The firm and its discontents 4. Agency and the emperor’s new clothes 5. Notes on an alternative corporate law theory Conclusions Index
