The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit Of Pr... May 2026

Repeated lying or conning of others for profit.

A tendency to disregard social norms and laws if the cost of the fine is lower than the potential profit. Key Themes The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Pr...

The law requires corporate directors to act in the best interest of the corporation, which is almost always defined as maximizing short-term wealth for shareholders. This makes genuine "corporate social responsibility" technically illegal if it doesn't serve the bottom line. Repeated lying or conning of others for profit

The central argument of both the book and film is that the modern corporation is a . Bakan, a law professor, argues that because corporations are legally mandated to prioritize shareholder profit above all else, they mirror the clinical traits of a psychopath : The "pathological" nature of corporations leads them to

An inability to experience remorse for harmful social or environmental consequences.

The "pathological" nature of corporations leads them to offload costs (like pollution or poor labor conditions) onto society, a process economists call "externalities".

A consistent failure to consider the feelings or safety of others.