Corporate Crime

Synonyms

Crimes of the powerful; White-collar crime

Introduction

Messages about the benefits of private enterprise inundate contemporary capitalist society. Corporations encourage us daily to purchase their products or invest in their stocks. Most major companies tout their commitments to social responsibility, declaring their respect for the environment and support of charitable causes. Governments declare that corporations offer much-needed jobs and the most effective and efficient means of accumulating and distributing wealth throughout society. Mainstream media portray “captains of industry” as role models and remind us that consuming products is socially and economically beneficial. It is virtually impossible today to envision a world without corporations; we are transfixed by dominant beliefs that they are inherently good.

While corporations do generate certain benefits – new technologies, essential medicines, and employment – they also routinely break the law and cause untold...