Why Corporations Exist LO10236

Art Kleiner (art@well.com)
Sun, 29 Sep 1996 09:52:13 -0500

Replying to LO10220 --

In response to LO 10220:

I appreciated Glenn's message. I'd even go farther. Corporations exist to
change the world.

They descended from monasteries, but the corporate form evolved as a means
for people to act on a large scale, without being part of either government
or the church.

This means, of course, that there is enormous potential for action -- and
enormous potential for abuse of power -- in the corporate form. But their
PURPOSE is to accomplish things that a human being, acting alone, could not
accomplish. (In part because of the threat of liability).

The argument that "corporations exist for profits," in my view, is an
artifact of "numbers culture," which has a different set of roots. Many
corporations have existed -- and even thrived -- without profits as their
primary purpose.

[Quote of previous msg snipped by your host...]

-- Art Kleiner, art@well.com, http//www.well.com/user/art

-- 

art@well.com (Art Kleiner)

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>