Impact of capitalism in society

In the late 1700s-early 1900s utopian idea and industrialization changed social life and influenced government. This was by the cause of three main topics Capitalism, Socialism, and Communism. It influenced the government each time within the end results not as how they predicted. Adam Smith is a Scottish economist laid the foundation of capitalism. Also, the evolution from Utilitarianism to socialism. Lastly, about the Karl Marx idea of the best and a fixed mind set on things. Utopian idea and industrialization led to development progress in social life and positively influenced government from the late 1700s-early 1900s through abusive capitalism, idealistic socialism, and realistic communism.

This essay will take a look at two different types of business structures; the capitalist corporation and the workers cooperative, and review how the differing approach to business and the fundamental ideologies of each, impacts ethical practises.

Throughout history, major corporations have taken control over nations. During the late 1800s and early 1900s big business have made a name for themselves in the united states. Even though, major corporations have had a positive impact on society, they in fact hurt our economy greatly.

The main goal of capitalism is to create profit. Capitalism values private ownership of property and discourages government intervention in the economy. Cultural misconceptions have suggested that capitalism is bad because it has lead to a large separation of wealth from the wealthiest individuals in a nation. The separation of wealth is not a misconception but I believe that blaming capitalism and wealthy individuals for societies economic woes are. I also do not believe that socialism is a bad thing either. I believe that both capitalism and socialism have a place amongst our society however I would lean towards capitalism because of an emphasis on utilizing resources to create more consumer goods where as socialism emphasizes evenly distributing resources.

Reading G. William Domhoff’s Who Rules America?: The Triumph of the Corporate Rich was an intriguing and challenging experience for me. My limited knowledge base of the American political class system mostly stems from high school US History classes and listening to my mom’s stories of her experiences in the corporate world. Therefore, I am aware that due to my prior lack of knowledge on the topics presented in Domhoff’s book, I may have misjudged some of his finer points. Part of my struggles may be largely due to the fact that Domhoff’s intended audience for Who Rules America? is other experts in the field of understanding the sociology of the corporate elite and their resources of power. However, I believe that the book has given me a better, if not complete, understanding of the corporate elite and how they stay in power.

Corporations can be large or small but they all have some sort of ethical impact on their employees, shareholders, customers, community, and surrounding environments. Richard DeGeorge writes, “We can speak of corporations having moral responsibilities to act in certain ways, and they are morally responsible for the consequences of their actions on people.” (p. 200). Large corporations are comprised of the board of directors, management, and their workers. They also deal with suppliers, customers, and have competitors. This essay will examine the moral responsibilities within a corporation.

The corporate world has an unfavorable view of itself by being selfish, evil, and against the average American. Companies market themselves and their products in certain ways that makes them and their products appealing to everyone and if not everyone then a certain group of people. Every company has a mission to follow and values to go by, but some companies lack ethics and morals. In this paper I am going to talk about one company that engages in ethical behavior and another that doesn’t.

A corporation was originally designed to allow for the forming of a group to get a single project done, after which it would be disbanded. At the end of the Civil War, the 14th amendment was passed in order to protect the rights of former slaves. At this point, corporate lawyers worked to define a corporation as a “person,” granting them the right to life, liberty and property. Ever since this distinction was made, corporations have become bigger and bigger, controlling many aspects of the economy and the lives of Americans. Corporations are not good for America because they outsource jobs, they lie and deceive, and they knowingly make and sell products that can harm people and animals, all in order to raise profits.

In the book, The Corporation Joel Bakan presents arguments, that corporations are nothing but institutional pathological psychopaths that are “a dangerous possessor of the great power it wields over people and societies.” Their main responsibility is maximizing profit for their stockholders and ignoring the means to achieve this goal, portrays them as “psychopathic.” Bakan argues that, corporations are psychopaths, corporate social responsibility is illegal, and that corporations are able to manipulate anyone, even the government.

A corporation has its king and its barons, its courtiers and ambassadors, its loyalists and its dissident elements, its allies and its enemies. What is important to our application of his principles of statecraft to the business world is not the superficial differences but the underlying unity. Modern corporations that are successful and well-managed do not necessarily operate in harmony with the personal morality of their employees and for the general good of their communities. Similarly, firms which pollute the environment or ask their employees to lie are not always forced into bankruptcy.

Joel Bakan’s book, The Corporation: the Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, is a decisive look into the mind of the corporation, or big business. It outlines the importance of profit in business and how ruthless corporations are willing to be in order to bring in substantial revenue. The book uses a historical timeframe to portray the ruthlessness of business ever since the idea of the corporation arose in the 17th century. It provides an insight into a world of cheating, lying and stealing in order to advance in society; which is ultimately the goal Bakan was looking to reach. He provides many cases, examples and accounts which help the reader to understand the scheming which takes place and how

Capitalism is a subject that can be considered deeply controversial. There are many who tout the benefits that capitalism provides to the economy and the progress of human society. There are others who decry that it is a system which promotes selfish motives and extols profits above honesty and genuine goodness. This essay will examine the claims of each and will reach to conclude the answer to the question “is capitalism good?”

In the mid-19th century, a great system of economics, which would change our lives forever, was formed. That system was called capitalism. Capitalism is an economic system that was created by combining many parts of many other economic systems. Capitalism was based on the idea that private individuals, and business firms would carry out all factors of production and trade. They would also control prices and markets on their own. Mercantilism was the precursor to Capitalism although each of them different in many ways. Mercantilism was for the wealth of the state, while the motive of capitalism was for the wealth of the individual.

The documentary starts off with showing the development of the contemporary business corporation, from beginning as a legal entity to then having the entitlement of having most of the legal rights of a person. Since a corporation is said to be a “person”, the documentary then was assessing the corporation as a “personality” and showed viewers everything a corporation was doing wrong in harming a real

A corporation, as defined by the Business Dictionary, is a “Firm that meets certain legal requirements to be recognized as having a legal existence, as an entity separate and distinct from its owners.” One of the earliest known corporations was the East India company (EIC), receiving its Royal Charter from Queen Elizabeth I, in 1600, which granted it the right to incorporate during a time when most people were either sole proprietors or in partnerships. The EIC was a charter company whose most lucrative commodity was tea, opium and textiles. Their power and influence was unparalleled and unyielding, acting as a governing authority in places with weak or no governments. By taking control of the Bengal opium industry, they were able to trade opium for tea in China, using the excess gains to buy textiles in Bengal and use them to trade for slaves in Africa, which ultimately they sold for gold in America. These army-backed bandits were above the law and beneath the bailout. By the time of their eventual demise, the world had changed and laws were put into place to prevent another EIC era, which better fit Ambrose Bierce 's Devil 's Dictionary description of a corporation as, “an ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility”.