For Profit: A History of Corporations

An “eloquent” (Economist) history of how corporate innovation has shaped society, from ancient Rome to Silicon Valley

Americans have long been skeptical of corporations, and that skepticism has only grown more intense in recent years. Meanwhile, corporations continue to amass wealth and power at a dizzying rate, recklessly pursuing profit while leaving society to sort out the costs.

In For Profit, law professor William Magnuson argues that the story of the corporation didn’t have to come...