Finance Capitalism, the Financialized Corporation, and Countervailing Power

The theoretical argument of this chapter is that the firm is best seen as a collectively managed resource or “commons” which is subject to a number of multiple, overlapping, and potentially conflicting property type claims on the part of the different constituencies or stakeholders who provide value to the firm. The sustainability of the corporation depends on ensuring proportionality of benefits and costs with respect to the inputs made to corporate resources, and on the participation of the different stakeholder groups in the formulation of rules governing the management and use of resources. Viewing the corporation as a commons in this sense is the first step toward a better understanding of the role that the corporate form can play in ensuring wider social and natural sustainability.