Law Commons^™

Towards A Nexus Of Virtue, Ronald J. Colombo

Ronald J Colombo

Corporate law, like all law, should be directed toward the common good. The common good requires that corporate activity be restrained, if not actively directed, by human virtue. An analysis of the corporate enterprise suggests that those corporate actors with the greatest stake in the exercise of virtue, and best positioned to influence corporate activity via the exercise of virtuous judgment, are the corporation’s officers. Thus, one of the primary objectives of corporate law should be the promotion of virtue among corporate officers.

Contrary to what some might assume, the promotion of virtue among corporate officers need not entail a …

Ownership, Limited: Reconciling Traditional And Progressive Corporate Law Via An Aristotelian Understanding Of Ownership, Ronald J. Colombo

Ronald J Colombo

Concern over issues of corporate social responsibility and corporate governance persists, fueled, in large part, by recent (and ongoing) corporate scandals of one sort or another. The debate over the nature of the corporation – and, consequently, the proper role of directors, shareholders, and other stakeholders – plays an important role in the consideration of such concerns. If one conceptualizes the corporation as an entity owned by the shareholders, then one would probably be more likely to view directors as mere agents, tasked with maximizing the wealth of their principals (the shareholders). On the other hand, rejecting such a conceptualization …