Taming the Octopus: The Long Battle for the Soul of the Corporation By Kyle Edward Williams

In "Taming the Octopus," Kyle Edward Williams explores the evolution of corporate accountability in America. He traces the history of the Progressive Era's vision of a socially responsible corporation, which became a consensus view by midcentury. However, the tools created by New Deal liberals to hold business leaders accountable, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, focused narrowly on the financial interests of shareholders. This inadvertently laid the groundwork for the dominance of fringe views that market forces should rule every facet of society, reshaping American capitalism itself.

Williams introduces us to activists, investors, executives, and workers who fought over the role of the corporation: should it deliver profits to shareholders or something more? On one side were "business statesmen" who believed corporate largess could solve social problems. On the other were libertarian intellectuals like Milton Friedman and Henry Manne, whose theories justified the ruthless tactics of corporate raiders. Before the "activist investor" emerged, Civil Rights groups used a similar playbook to change companies from within.

As activists pushed corporations to account for societal harms, a new idea emerged: managers could maximize value for society while still turning a maximal profit. This ideal, "stakeholder capitalism," still dominates headlines today. Williams's history equips us to reconsider democracy's relationship with capitalism. 📖💖