Review the assigned material on the forms of business ownership, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations (pp. 116-133) from uploaded textbook. Watch the first six chapters (the first 42 minutes) of the documentary, “The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power.” The remainder of the film, starting with the chapter “Monstrous Obligations,” is interesting, but optional.

Here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCahIgg3kjLVwvGyQbjbxYAA

Respond to this question with a minimum of 350 words and 2 scholarly sources.

Here’s the discussion question

Briefly discuss how the assigned portion of the film helps (or doesn’t help) create a better understanding of the corporation as a form of business ownership, compared to the sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), etc., that are described in the book.

Then, in more detail, describe any change(s) that you would recommend to the current forms of ownership, why those changes are needed and what those changes would accomplish. If no changes are needed, defend the current forms of ownership, focusing on the corporation, indicating why changes would make the current form worse rather than better

Here are some additional details

1) The film and the assigned material from the Read section meet the requirement for two scholarly sources. Additional outside sources may be used, but are not required.

2) ”The Corporation” is a long documentary by the Canadian filmmaker Joel Bakan. Focusing on US corporations, the film traces their evolution from “a government-chartered institution meant to affect specific public functions, to the rise of the modern commercial institution entitled to most of the legal rights of a person.”

Bakan makes a case that the corporation is incapable of acting responsibly or ethically. Instead, he argues that the behavior we see is consistent with the way corporations are legally defined – as rational, immortal, non-human persons charged with the primary goal of creating shareholder wealth. It is interesting that the legal definition of corporations as a “non-human person” was based on an interpretation of the 14th Amendment, an amendment that was not written to impact corporations but to ensure individual rights, specifically the rights of freed slaves.

Bakan sounds anti-capitalist later in the film but the assigned portion mostly argues against what corporations have become, rather than against free market competition. There’s a lot to think about, plenty to disagree with, and it’s always interesting to see how the US is viewed from the outside.

3) Update the subject line of the initial post so that it reflects your position, like adding a title to a paper. It makes it easier to see what everyone is writing about and, overall, just looks more professional. It’s also part of the scoring.

4) Your opinions are important and not everyone will agree. Scoring will depend more on the evidence you provide to support your opinions, rather than what your opinions are. Defend your position with evidence using citations and references that follow APA guidelines.