Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Publication Title

Georgetown Journal of Law & Public Policy

Volume

12

Issue

special issue

First Page

429

Last Page

450

DOI

https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/geojlap12&div=23&id=&page=

Abstract

Many writers argue that a “democratic deficit” is created when private actors such as corporations take on state functions. The problem, it is said, is that the course of public life is being shaped by agents who are not accountable to the public. We evaluate this claim and consider what should be done about it. We focus in particular on a recent attempt, put forward principally by Palazzo and Scherer, to address the democracy deficit by “democratizing” corporations. We argue that their proposal, while promising, has a significant defect. We then propose a remedy for this defect. In sum, our goal is to call attention to a new kind of corporate political activity, to highlight its main ethical defect, and to examine in detail an attempt to address it. More generally, this paper contributes to our understanding of the evolving role of corporations in society.

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