Corporations and Democracy: The Challenge, the Opportunities, and Essential First Steps

Corporations dominate our world, from opaque shells to multinationals with resources that rival many governments. Do our laws, social structures, markets, and political institutions, which enable corporations to exist and function, create a proper balance of power among corporations, governments and citizens? Does democratic governance exert appropriate accountability when individuals acting on behalf of corporations… Read more Corporations and Democracy: The Challenge, the Opportunities, and Essential First Steps

CASI Holds First Joint Conference on Corporations and Democracy

Corporations do not vote in elections, but their impact on democratic societies is immense, as demonstrated by the actions taken by corporations both before and following the events of January 6, 2020, in Washington D.C. Some corporations and business leaders were motivated to stop specific political contributions to members of Congress who voted to reject… Read more CASI Holds First Joint Conference on Corporations and Democracy

Winter 2021 Corporations & Democracy Reading List

Recommended Books and Articles Related to the December 7-9, 2020 Conference on Corporations and Democracy: Admati, Anat R. and Martin Hellwig, The Bankers New Clothes: What’s Wrong with Banking and What to Do about It, Princeton University Press (2013)Bartlett, Jamie, The People Vs Tech: How the Internet Is Killing Democracy (and How We Save It),… Read more Winter 2021 Corporations & Democracy Reading List

"Business Ain't Usual" from Visible Hands

The following blog post is reposted from Visible Hands, a weekly newsletter founded by two GSB 2021 students, Libby Coleman and Jessica Chao. Their newsletter covers how business works, the implications of business on society, and how individuals can keep them accountable. You can subscribe to their newsletter here. We had the pleasure to speak… Read more "Business Ain't Usual" from Visible Hands

Inside Amazon: A New Kind of Monopoly. A Conversation with Stacy Mitchell

Over the last two decades, Amazon has risen to become one of the largest and most powerful corporations in the world—and many have started to call into question the tactics that it has used and is using to get to and stay at the top. On October 14, 2020, the Corporations and Society Initiative welcomed… Read more Inside Amazon: A New Kind of Monopoly. A Conversation with Stacy Mitchell

Democracy, Technology, and Regulation: A Conversation with Marietje Schaake

After the political disruption seeded through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms in the 2016 Presidential Election, many are wondering if the internet is just as damaging to democracy as it is beneficial, both in the United States and around the world. On Wednesday, October 7, the Corporations and Society Initiative hosted a conversation… Read more Democracy, Technology, and Regulation: A Conversation with Marietje Schaake

Can we use technology to fight COVID-19 without surrendering our privacy?

By Ben Ruxin, MBA’21 & CASI student leader As the world rushes to address the challenges of Covid-19, many leaders from both the public and private sectors are calling for the use of surveillance technologies to enable effective response to the pandemic. Apple and Google have announced a partnership to build “privacy-preserving” contact tracing technology.… Read more Can we use technology to fight COVID-19 without surrendering our privacy?

Milton Friedman and the Need for Justice

By ANAT ADMATI, George G.C. Parker Professor of Finance and Economics at Stanford University Graduate School of Business (GSB), and co-Director of CASI This post is a reprint of a post contributed to a series organized by the Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State to mark the 50-year anniversary of… Read more Milton Friedman and the Need for Justice

Insights from “Our Democracy in a Time of Pandemic: A Conversation with U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown”

The Corporations and Society Initiative hosted Senator Sherrod Brown for a public webinar on May 27th, 2020. We were delighted to hear his perspectives on the impact of Covid-19, perspectives on the upcoming 2020 election, and the many urgent challenges facing our country today. We invite you to watch the recording of Susannah Shattuck’s interview… Read more Insights from “Our Democracy in a Time of Pandemic: A Conversation with U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown”

“The first thing you can do is unwind complicity” - Winner Takes All Debrief

On May 20, a group of twenty-two GSB students joined Anand Giridharadas in discussion of his book, Winner Takes All. Unsurprisingly, discussing a book with the subtitle “The Elite Charade of Changing the World” at a business school with a motto of “Change Life, Change Organizations, Change the World” engendered thought-provoking discussion. A few key… Read more “The first thing you can do is unwind complicity” - Winner Takes All Debrief