The Corporate Criminal Why Corporations Must Be Abolished

Abstract

This book examines corporate crime through empirical evidence, historical analysis, and theoretical arguments. Steve Tombs and David Whyte challenge the conventional representation of corporations as responsible organizational citizens and examine how corporate structures, law, politics, and profit incentives can facilitate harmful conduct. The book considers corporate crime and harm, the historical construction of the corporation, organizational irresponsibility, and the effectiveness of regulatory controls. The authors argue that corporate wrongdoing is not merely the product of individual misconduct but is connected to the structural characteristics and legal privileges of the modern corporation. They therefore question whether conventional regulatory reforms can adequately address corporate harm and advance an argument for fundamental changes to the corporate form.