Corpocracy

Shareholder control over large corporations is worryingly weak and the unrestrained hunt for profits is taking a toll on the environment and society. In Corpocracy, corporate lawyer, venture capitalist, and shareholder activist Robert Monks reveals how corporations abuse their power and what we the people must do to rein them in. In a clear and careful analysis, Monks outlines a plan for reconciling the competing interests of corporations and society through thoughtful shareholder activism. Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Definition.

Chapter 1: An Audience with the Emperor.

Chapter 2: Economics Ascendant.

Chapter 3: The Godfather.

Chapter 4: The Business Roundtable.

Chapter 5: Inside the Corpocracy.

Chapter 6: House Take.

Chapter 7: Efficiences "R" Us.

Chapter 8: Return of the Blob.

Chapter 9: The Great and the Good.

Chapter 10: Still, I Dare to Dream.

Appendix.

Notes.

Index.

...a formidable polemic …its unarguable point about unaccountable corporate power cannot be ignored." (The Financial Times, January 28, 2008)

"a facinating read" (City AM podcast www.cityam.com, Wednesday 23rd January 2008)

"...a timely new book...deserves to be read." (Pensions & Investments, Monday 21st January 2008)

Robert A. G. Monks is the founder of ISS, The Corporate Library, the LENS Fund, and Governance for Owners. A CEO in two industries and the director of ten publicly traded companies, he was placed in charge of the national pension system and made a founding trustee of the Federal Employees Retirement System by Ronald Reagan. He has written six books in the fields of governance, including, with Nell Minow, Corporate Governance.

Corporations were conceived and first chartered to serve the public good — to exploit hard-to-find resources and to undertake projects individual businesspeople couldn't manage alone. But times have changed, corporate executives have taken on regal authority, and the public good has been dropped from the equation.

Modern corporations are free to maximize their wealth but owe nothing to the individuals and communities around them. They balk at government regulation and lock out shareholders while executives use inside baseball to reward themselves with massive pay packages. Today's CEOs are beholden to one thing only—profit for profit's sake—and our communities, our workforce, and our environment frequently suffer for it. While over-regulation of corporations will destroy the economy, doing nothing to change corporate behavior might well destroy everything else.

In Corpocracy, longtime corporate lawyer, venture capitalist, and shareholder activist Robert Monks reveals how corporations seized control, how they abuse their power, and what we can—and must—do to rein them in. In this clear and careful analysis, Monks outlines a plan for reconciling the competing interests of corporations and society through thoughtful shareholder activism that protects the interests of corporations and everyone else.

Shareholder control over large corporations is as weak as it has ever been. Not only are corporations rarely held to account by government regulation, they face even less control by those whose interests they ostensibly serve. Yet, when engaged and active, shareholders still hold the power to influence corporate behavior and governance in ways that can benefit everyone.

Corporate capitalism is still the best chance for mankind to improve life on earth. But corporations must be made to operate within the rules of legitimate authority without retarding their ability to create wealth. It's up to us to find a path that reins in corporations without stifling their ability to innovate and profit. Corpocracy is the map that will guide us to better corporations and a better world for us all.

"A very, very important book."
—Paula Gordonhost, the Paula Gordon Show

Corporate governance expert Robert Monks takes on the country's biggest mega-corporations in this devastating account of corporate greed. Hugely inflated CEO salaries and bonuses and the wholesale exclusion of shareholders from governance of the companies they own are only symptoms of a far greater threat to democratic society: corporate takeover of the political process. Monks, a venture capitalist and member of several boards, shows how we can right the capitalist ship before it's too late—and restore the essential character of the companies that made America great.