Behind the Cloak of Corporate Social Responsibility: Safeguards for Private Participation within Institutional Design

Abstract:This article challenges the reader to consider what modes of governance will ensure that corporations advance collective welfare. It identifies and explores "new governance imagery," which holds out the promise of a governance that is more "effective," "efficient," and "democratic." Such imagery is woven into the arguments used to champion institutional design's reliance on corporate decision-making. The article then questions the use of corporate social responsibility rhetoric, showing how it may lure regulators to disregard valid concerns about the effects of privatization and give them false assurance that the transfer of public power to business actors will inspire them to behave as public servants.