Written more than a half-century ago, The Modern Corporation and Private Property remains the fundamental introduction to the internal organiation of the corporation in modern society. Combining the analytical skills of an attorney with those of an economist, Berle and Means raise the central questions, even when their answers have been superseded by changing circumstances. This volume remains of valuable to all those concerned with the evolution of this major social institution.
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About the Author
Murray Weidenbaum is Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor of Economics at Washington University in St. Louis and honorary chairman of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy. He was the first chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to Ronald Reagan and also served as a member of Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board. He is the author of numerous books, including Business and Government in the Global Marketplace, One-Armed Economist, and The Bamboo Network.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Unvarnished Truth,
By
This review is from: The Modern Corporation and Private Property (Paperback)
About 6 years ago I visited the White Eagle Conference Center in beautiful central New York. This is a quaint place that must have been a real marquee in its time. On one of their obviously long under used book shelves (seemed like nothing had been touched for at least 2 decades) I noticed this book, an original copyrighted 1932 version. I couldn't put it down. It presented a thoroughly well written, seminal treatment of the conflicts that senior leaders exhibit even today, a full 75 years later. It explained in vivid detail the deeply entrenched, inextricible human behavior that is observed consistently by senior leaders from organization to organization today. The plain and simple bottom line is that unless you're an insider, you're nothing more than overhead to be tolerated. The SEC was created by sheer necessity to protect the public. Businesmen 'talk' about how they care about other people but the unvarnished truth is that their friends and family are the only ones who matter. This book is great foundational work providing insight to the reasons why we need a strong SEC. The only thing that has changed in the human conditon is technology. The DNA that drives human behavior hasn't changed for thousands of years.
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Dated Classic,
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This review is from: The Modern Corporation and Private Property (Paperback)
"The Modern Corporation and Private Property" was hailed as an instant classic when it appeared in 1932. To my knowledge, it was the first book to spell out how modern corporate capitalism is characterized by pervasive oligopoly and the separation of management from ownership. These points are still valid today, and remind us that modern capitalism has little in common with the social system analyzed by Adam Smith and other Classical economists. However, most of "The Modern Corporation and Private Property" is taken up with an out-of-date, pre-SEC review of corporate finance law as it existed in 1930. As a result, the book will be of little interest to most modern readers, even though it is a "must" purchase for any serious library of books on economics or corporate governance.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Those who forget the past are condemned to relive it,
By Kaleberg "one_kaleberg" (Port Angeles, WA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Modern Corporation and Private Property (Paperback)
This is an excellent, timely book on modern corporate structure and its philosophical and legal underpinnings. It was written over 65 years ago, but it is as relevant now as it was then. The large scale government chartered collectivist enterprises we know as corporations were well developed by the early 20th century. Over 80 years ago, most of the economy was controlled by these collectives, and most of those collectives were controlled by their management and not their owners. In fact, some of these enterprises might have hundreds of thousands of owners.
Berle and Means dissect what this change means in terms of Adam Smith's theories and more modern legal theories. What does it mean when one owns property that is controlled by others. What checks are there on the authority of corporate officers in their fiduciary roles? Who is the beneficiary of their trust? These questions are as relevant today as they were when this book was published. The world of the unbridled modern corporation has its defenders, most of the sort that George Orwell called bully worshipers, that is, those who worship power, the more, the better. Unfortunately, as we seem to discover every generation or two, these structures have serious shortcomings when it comes to providing the goods and services that we expect. Today, as when the book was published, we are in a period of reassessment. The private sector has failed horribly, showing itself unable to manage the nation's finances, produce automobiles or deliver health care. When times are good, people forget that corporations are just government chartered collectives, and what the government creates, it can monitor, modify and control. Berle and Means point this out clearly as they outline the rise of modern corporate structure. It was not created in one step, nor did it evolve naturally. Berle and Means then turn to the remedies that might restore the nation's faith in its private sector. In fact, one section of the book underlies much of modern security law, including such innovations as bans on insider trading, the creation of the SEC, reporting requirements, and restraints on the assignment of earnings and on issuing shares. Berle and Means, and those who followed their advice in the New Deal did their job well. For decades, the markets ran smoothly, and when things are running smoothly, people forget the lessons learned. The engine of our economy needs a tune up, perhaps even a rebuild. This makes it a good time to learn something about how the engine works, and how it came to work that way.
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