Corporate makahiki: The governing telos of peace

American Business Law Journal

Volumn 38, Issue 2, 2001, Pages 301-361

  Fort, Timothy L ^a  

^a NONE

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0035644726     PISSN: 00027766     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-1714.2001.tb00291.x     Document Type: Article

References (296)

1. SCOTT CUNNINGHAM, HAWAIIAN RELIGION AND MAGIC 25 (1994).
2. A reviewer helpfully pointed out that ambivalence suggests the feelings of a living being and therefore life may be ambiguous or contradictory, yet not ambivalent. Generally speaking, this is correct and given the fact that these characterizations of the terms are common, I include them in the description of life. Nevertheless, I wish to include the notion that life itself, and culture as well, is ambivalent by relying on the notion that life is not an inanimate being, but a living force itself. Accordingly, I will primarily use the term "ambivalent" with the notion that I am characterizing life and culture as living forces rather than inanimate characterizations of lives and collectivities throughout the article. For an elaboration of this idea, see PAUL TILLICH, THEOLOGIAN OF THE BOUNDARIES 163-66 (Mark Kline Taylor ed., 1987).
3. FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY, THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV (Richard Pevear & Larissa Volokhonsky trans., 1990).
4. FRANZ KAFKA, THE TRIAL (Idris Parry trans., 1994).
5. ALBERT CAMUS, THE FIRST MAN (David Hapsgood trans., 1995).
6. JEAN KELLOGG, DARK PROPHETS OF HOPE - DOSTOEVKSY, SARTRE, CAMUS, FAULKNER (1975).
7. Ecclesiastes 1:2.
8. Ecclesiastes 3:1-9.
9. See MIRCIA ELIADE, A HISTORY OF RELIGIOUS IDEAS 1-3 (Willard R. Trask trans., 1978) for a good overall presentation of such differentiations from a variety of times and places in world history.
10. VALERIO VALERI, KINGSHIP AND SACRIFICE: RITUAL AND SOCIETY IN ANCIENT HAWAII 16 (Paula Wissing trans., 1985).
11. CUNNINGHAM, supra note 1, at 22-23.
12. Id. at 23.
13. Id. at 24.
14. Id. at 23-24.
15. LILIKALA KAME'ELEIHIWA, NATIVE LAND AND FOREIGN DESIRES, KO HAWAI'I 'AINA A ME NA KOI PU'UMAKE A KA PO'E HAOLE: A HISTORY OF LAND TENURE CHANCES IN HAWAII FROM TRADITIONAL TIMES UNTIL THE 1948 MAHELE INCLUDING AN ANALYSIS OF HAWAIIAN ALI'I NUI AND AMERICAN CALVINISTS 13 (1992).
16. See generally DAVID C. KORTEN, WHEN CORPORATIONS RULE THE WORLD (1995) (developing the notion that corporations increasingly dominate social and political norms).
17. See JULIET B. SCHOR, THE OVERWORKED AMERICAN: THE UNEXPECTED DECLINE OF LEISURE 27-48 (1991) (arguing that capitalism has led to less time for family and other mediating institutions).
18. See generally ROBERT C. SOLOMON, ETHICS AND EXCELLENCE: COOPERATION AND INTEGRITY IN BUSINESS (1992). Solomon's virtue approach to business ethics is based on an understanding that virtues are applicable in all aspects of human life. He carries this theme throughout this book.
19. ROY A. RAPPAPORT, ECOLOGY, MEANING, & RELIGION 131 (1979).
20. See id. at 130.
21. Michael Cranna, Introduction to THE TRUE COST OF CONFLICT, at xv (Michael Cranna ed., 1994).
22. Id. at xvii.
23. Nils Bhinda, The Kashmir Conflict, in THE TRUE COST OF CONFLICT, supra note 28, at 55, 63.
24. Id.
25. Id.
26. Id. at 70, 74.
27. Ian Robinson, The East Timor Conflict, in THE TRUE COST OF CONFLICT, supra note 28, at 1, 1-24.
28. Gregory Quinn, The Iraqi Conflict, in THE TRUE COST OF CONFLICT, supra note 28, at 25, 25-54.
29. Shaun Vincent, The Mozambique Conflict, in THE TRUE COST OF CONFLICT, supra note 28, at 81, 81-112.
30. Donald Shave, The Peru Conflict, in THE TRUE COST OF CONFLICT, supra note 28, at 113, 113-34.
31. Nicholas Shalita, The Sudan Conflict, in THE TRUE COST OF CONFLICT, supra note 28, at 135, 135-54.
32. Angela Burke & Gordon Macdonald, The Former Yogoslavia Conflict, in THE TRUE COST OF CONFLICT, supra note 28, at 155, 155-96.
33. See Philip M. Nichols, Regulating Transnational Bribery in Times of Globalization and Fragmentation, 24 YALE J. INT'L L. 257, 263 (1999).
34. See LAWRENCE KEELEY, WAR BEFORE CIVILIZATION 117-22 (1996).
35. Id. at 181.
36. See David Postman, Resistance Takes Fast Track-Protestors Training Now for Sit-ins, Blockades, SEATTLE TIMES, Sept. 10, 1999, at A1 (describing the protests in Seattle at the meeting of the World Trade Organization).
37. See David Gresing, Shades of Seattle Riot as Clinton Addresses Elite Economic Forum, CHI. TRIB., Jan. 30, 2000, at C13 (describing the protests in Davos at the meeting of influential business leaders held there annually).
38. See LOUIS FISCHER, THE LIFE OF MAHATMA GANDHI 162-76(1950).
39. See JONATHAN D. SPENCE, THE SEARCH FOR MODERN CHINA 117-64 (1990).
40. See Computer Virus Hit 14 Agencies, CHI. TRIB., May 10, 2000, at A1.
41. See Nerve Gas Kills 6 in Tokyo; Thousands Sickened in Suspected Terrorist Plot, CHI. TRIB., Mar. 20, 1995, at N1.
42. See Sarin Savagery, ECONOMIST, Mar. 25, 1995, at 88.
43. See HOSMER, supra note 27, at 78.
44. See APPROACHES TO PEACE: A READER IN PEACE STUDIES 262-64 (David P. Barash ed., 2000) for some of this poetry.
45. See RALPH VAUGHN WILLIAMS, DONA NOBIS PACEM (Chandos Records 1988).
46. See, e.g., MAURICE DURUFLE, REQUIEM (Telarc Records 1987). The Requiems of Mozart, Faure, and Rutter also emphasize the theme of peace and rest, unlike those of Verdi and Berlioz, which are dominated by the dies irae, the day of wrath.
47. See NORMAN WHITEFIELD & BARRETT STRONG, BALL OF CONFUSION (Motown 1995).
48. .See R. SCOTT APPELBY, THE AMBIVALENCE OF THE SACRED: RELIGION, VIOLENCE, AND RECONCILIATION (2000).
49. Id. at 27.
50. Barash, supra note 51, at 199.
51. See id. for a good overview of the varieties of commitment to the status of peace.
52. Thomas Gregor, Introduction to A NATURAL HISTORY OF PEACE, at ix-xxii (Thomas Gregor ed., 1996).
53. CONNIE PECK, SUSTAINABLE PEACE: THE ROLE OF THE UN AND REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN PREVENTING CONFLICT 17 (1998).
54. Id.
55. Id.
56. Id.
57. Carol B. Swanson, The Turn in Takeovers: A Study in Public Appeasement and Unstoppable Capitalism, 30 GA. L. REV. 943, 945 (1996).
58. Karen E. Mishra et al., Preserving Employee Morale During Downsizing, SLOAN MGMT. REV., Winter 1998, at 83.
59. David Greising, CEOs Stack the Deck in Megamergers, CHI. TRIB., Jan. 17, 1999, at C1.
60. Morey W. McDaniel, Stockholders and Stakeholders, 21 STETSON L. REV. 121, 124-25 (1991).
61. See Eric W. Orts, Beyond Shareholders: Interpreting Corporate Constituency Statutes, 61 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 14, 71 (1992)(good overview of the debates surrounding the statutes).
62. See Timothy L. Fort, The Corporation as Mediating Institution: An Efficacious Synthesis of Stakeholder Theory and Corporate Constituency Statutes, 73 NOTRE DAME L. REV. 173 (1997).
63. 493 A.2d 949 (1985).
64. Swanson, supra note 64, at 954.
65. Id. at 978.
66. Id. at 955.
67. Revlon, Inc. v. MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc., 506 A.2d 173 (Del. 1986).
68. See BRUCE WASSERSTEIN, BIG DEAL: THE BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF AMERICA'S LEADING CORPORATIONS 584-85 (1998).
69. 637 A.2d 34 (1994).
70. Cf. Swanson, supra note 64, at 947. Swanson argues that the complex regulatory scheme and anti-takeover legislation have facilitated business acquisitions by taking the air out of groups opposed to them.
71. Roberta Romano, A Guide to Takeovers: Theory, Evidence, and Regulation, 9 YALE J. ON REG. 119 (1992).
72. Id. at 125.
73. Id. at 125-29.
74. Id. at 129-33.
75. Id. at 131-32.
76. Id. at 133.
77. Id. at 133-36.
78. Id. at 136-37.
79. Id. at 137-42.
80. Id. at 142-43.
81. Id. at 133-43.
82. Mishra et. al., supra note 65, at 84 (raising the question of whether downsizing is a counterproductive business strategy) (citing W. F. CASCIO, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, OFFICE OF THE AMERICAN WORKPLACE, GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE RESTRUCTURING 5 (1995)).
83. Mishra et. al., supra note 65, at 84 (raising the question of whether downsizing is a counterproductive business strategy) (citing W. F. CASCIO, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, OFFICE OF THE AMERICAN WORKPLACE, GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE RESTRUCTURING 5 (1995)).
84. Romano, supra note 78, at 143.
85. Id. at 143-44.
86. Id. at 144.
87. Id. at 144-45.
88. Id. at 146-48.
89. Id. at 148.
90. Id. at 148-49.
91. Id. at 148-49.
92. Id. at 149-50.
93. Id. at 149.
94. Id. at 150-52.
95. WASSERSTEIN, supra note 75, at 3-5.
96. Romano, supra note 78, at 125-45.
97. See WASSERSTEIN, supra note 75, at 3-4.
98. Id. at 4.
99. Id.
100. Id. at 5.
101. See ROBERT JACKALL, MORAL MAZES 21 (1988).
102. See FREDERICK, supra note 23, at 94-97 (relying on Jackall's work and also noting the autocratic nature of management).
103. WASSERSTEIN, supra note 75, at 5.
104. SOLOMON, supra note 18, at 9.
105. This is sometimes known as the "superman," but I follow the translation provided by Walter Kaufmann in FRIEDRICH WILHELM NIETZSCHE, THUS SPOKE ZARATHUSTRA: A BOOK FOR ALL AND NONE (Walter Kaufmann trans., 1978).
106. Id. at 23-24.
107. Id. at 112.
108. Id. at 188.
109. Id. at 101.
110. Id. at 199.
111. Id. at 274.
112. William M. Evan & R. Edward Freeman, A Stakeholder Theory of the Modern Corporation: Kantian Capitalism, in ETHICAL THEORY & BUSINESS 97, 101-05 (Tom L. Beauchamp & Norman E. Bowie eds., 3d ed. 1988).
113. John R. Boatright, Fiduciary Duties and the Shareholder-Management Relation: Or, What's So Special About Shareholders?, 4 BUS. ETHICS Q. 393, 405 (1994).
114. See THOMAS DONALDSON, CORPORATIONS AND MORALITY 54 (1982).
115. See Thomas Donaldson & Thomas W. Dunfee, Toward a Unified Conception of Business Ethics: Integrative Social Contracts Theory, 19 ACAD. MGMT. REV. 252, 262 (1994).
116. See id.
117. ALASDAIR MACINTYRE, AFTER VIRTUE: A STUDY IN MORAL THEORY 103 (1981).
118. See id. at 103.
119. See id. at 104-05.
120. Id. at 107-11.
121. NIETZSCHE, supra note 111, at 288.
122. MACINTYRE, supra note 123, at 236.
123. See Steven R. Salbu, Law and Conformity, Ethics and Conflict: The Trouble with Law-Based Conceptions of Ethics, 68 IND. L.J. 101, 110 (1992).
124. See id. at 108.
125. Id. at 110.
126. See JOHN FINNIS, NATURAL LAW AND NATURAL RIGHTS 30 (1980) (arguing that some individuals simply have no interest in knowing what is moral or acting upon that knowledge if they do know it).
127. Id. at 176.
128. Id.
129. See HOSMER, supra note 27, at 78, 117-21 (a good, concise summary of these religious and Kantian positions).
130. FINNIS, supra note 132, at 83-84.
131. Salbu, supra note 129, at 108 (citations omitted).
132. See MICHAEL J. PERRY, MORALITY POLITICS & LAW: A BICENTENNIAL ESSAY 29 (1988) (arguing that moral knowledge is a product of more than individual thought).
133. RICHARD JOHN NEUHAUS, DOING WELL & DOING GOOD: THE CHALLENGE TO THE CHRISTIAN CAPITALIST 243-45 (1992).
134. FINNIS, supra note 132, at 147.
135. Joseph Birdsell, On Population Structure in Generalized Hunting and Gathering Population, in XII:2 EVOLUTION 196-99 (1958).
136. Gregory Johnson, Organizational Structure and Scalar Stress, in THEORY AND EXPLANATION IN ARCHAEOLOGY: THE SOUTHAMPTON CONFERENCE 389, 396-404 (C. Renfrew et al. eds., 1982).
137. See ROBIN DUNBAR, GROOMING, GOSSIP, AND THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE 56 (1996).
138. Id. at 56-57.
139. Id. at 57-63.
140. Id. at 57-63.
141. Id. at 63.
142. Id.
143. Id. at 71-73.
144. Id. at 74-76.
145. See PETER BERGER & RICHARD JOHN NEUHAUS, TO EMPOWER PEOPLE: THE ROLE OF MEDIATING STRUCTURES IN PUBLIC POLICY 1-15 (1977).
146. See, e.g., Cass Sunstein, Beyond the Republican Revival, 97 YALE L.J. 1539 (1988).
147. David Fabbro, Peaceful Societies: An Introduction, 15 J. PEACE RES. 67 (1978) , cited in Leslie E. Sponsel, The Natural History of Peace: The Positive View of Human Nature and its Potential, in A NATURAL HISTORY OF PEACE 108 (Thomas Gregor ed., 1996).
148. David Fabbro, Peaceful Societies: An Introduction, 15 J. PEACE RES. 67 (1978) , cited in Leslie E. Sponsel, The Natural History of Peace: The Positive View of Human Nature and its Potential, in A NATURAL HISTORY OF PEACE 108 (Thomas Gregor ed., 1996).
149. VACLAV HAVEL, DISTURBING THE PEACE 14 (1987).
150. APPLEBY, supra note 55, at 87.
151. Sponsel, supra note 153, at 108 (citing Fabbro, supra note 153).
152. See LARRY ARNHART, DARWINIAN NATURAL RIGHT: THE BIOLOGICAL ETHICS OF HUMAN NATURE 51 (1998).
153. Id. at 3.
154. Id. at 29.
155. See JAMES Q. WILSON, THE MORAL SENSE 2,6 (1993).
156. LON L. FULLER, ANATOMY OF THE LAW 181 (1968).
157. See FREDERICK, supra note 23, at 30.
158. RAPPAPORT, supra note 19, at 131.
159. See TIMOTHY L. FORT, LAW AND RELIGION 71 (1987); see also id. at 69-76 (providing a fuller explanation of Connecticut's history of checks and balances and its relationships to religion).
160. See MARY JEANNE ANDERSON JONES, CONGREGATIONAL COMMONWEALTH: CONNECTICUT 1636-1662, at 70-71 (1968).
161. See FORT, supra note 164, at 71. The General Court, however, did delegate functional responsibilities to specialized bodies that included courts.
162. 167 Id.
163. See MARTINA DEUCHLER, THE CONFUCIAN TRANSFORMATION OF KOREA: A STUDY OF SOCIETY AND IDEOLOGY 107-11 (1992).
164. See supra note 135 and accompanying text.
165. See FINNIS, supra note 132, at 360.
166. LON L. FULLER, THE MORALITY OF LAW 186 (1969).
167. See RICHARD PIPES, PROPERTY AND FREEDOM 116 (1999).
168. See id. at 64-120.
169. Id. at 79.
170. Id. at 80.
171. Id. at 86.
172. Id. at 87.
173. Id. at 92-97.
174. Id. at 7-8.
175. Id. at 8.
176. Id. at 17.
177. Id. at 34.
178. Id. at 5.
179. Id. at 121-58.
180. MATT RIDLEY, THE ORIGINS OF VIRTUE: HUMAN INSTINCTS AND THE EVOLUTION OF COOPERATION 231-46 (1997).
181. STEPHEN B. PRESSER, RECAPTURING THE CONSTITUTION: RACE, RELIGION, AND ABORTION RECONSIDERED 62 (1994).
182. FINNIS, supra note 132, at 135.
183. See KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 4-5.
184. Id. at 3.
185. See MARSHALL SAHLINS, ISLANDS OF HISTORY 142 (1985); VALERI, supra note 10, at 16.
186. See MARSHALL SAHLINS, ISLANDS OF HISTORY 142 (1985); VALERI, supra note 10, at 16.
187. See KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 40.
188. See id. at 13.
189. See id.
190. See VALERI, supra note 10, at 3-36.
191. See id. at 3-36.
192. See CUNNINGHAM, supra note 1, at 25.
193. See id.
194. See VALERI, supra note 10, at 19-20, 109.
195. See KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 36-37.
196. See VALERI, supra note 10, at 90-99.
197. See id. at 90-91.
198. See KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 33-37.
199. See VALERI, supra note 10, at 149.
200. See KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 45.
201. Id. at 45.
202. See VALERI, supra note 10, at 159.
203. See id. at 159.
204. See KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 51.
205. See VALERI, supra note 10, at 154.
206. See KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 52.
207. See id. at 46.
208. See id. at 104-05.
209. KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 48.
210. SAHLINS, supra note 190, at 1-8.
211. See id. at 1-8.
212. See id. at 115.
213. See id. at 121.
214. Id. at 125.
215. See KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 67.
216. See SAHLINS, supra note 190, at 8.
217. See id. at xvii.
218. See id. at 128-29.
219. See id.
220. Id. at 108-13.
221. KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 39.
222. See id. at 81-82.
223. RICHARD TREGASKIS, THE WARRIOR KING: HAWAII'S KAMEHAMEHA THE GREAT 90 (1973).
224. See id. at 146.
225. See KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 47.
226. See id. at 205.
227. See KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 9.
228. See id. at 52.
229. See id. at 54, 60.
230. See id. at 52.
231. See id. at 68.
232. Id. at 138.
233. See id. at 76.
234. See id. at 69-74.
235. See id. at 69-74.
236. See id. at 78.
237. See id. at 138.
238. See MACINYTRE, supra note 123, at 107.
239. See KAME'ELEIHIWA, supra note 15, at 139.
240. See id. at 169-98.
241. See SAHLINS, supra note 190, at 80.
242. See id. at 80.
243. See id. at 142.
244. Id. at 242.
245. Id. at 242.
246. Id. at 142.
247. See JACKALL, supra note 107, at 21 (arguing that in American corporate life, the distribution of power and responsibility resembles that of a royal hierarchy).
248. Id.
249. See supra note 123 and accompanying text.
250. See FREDERICK, supra note 23, at 136-42.
251. See id. at 9.
252. See id. at 9.
253. Id. at 9.
254. Id. at 9.
255. See id. at 168-244.
256. See id. at 166.
257. See id.
258. LYALL WATSON, DARK NATURE: A NATURAL HISTORY OF EVIL 20 (1995).
259. See id. at 21.
260. Id. at 22.
261. Id. at 23. I do not want to follow Watson too closely in his definition of evil, but he does have a point in terms of connecting abrupt change to suffering.
262. See id. at 152.
263. See generally SOLOMON, supra note 18.
264. TILLICH, supra note 2, at 39.
265. RAPPAPORT, supra note 19, at 76.
266. FINNIS, supra note 132, at 139-40.
267. Id. at 139.
268. Id. at 139.
269. Id. at 139.
270. Id. at 142.
271. Id. at 142-43.
272. Id. at 143.
273. Id. at 143-44.
274. See supra notes 150-56 and accompanying text (describing the characteristics of mediating institutions).
275. ARNHART, supra note 157, at 61.
276. See supra notes 169-87 and accompanying text.
277. See supra notes 26-63 and accompanying text.
278. See Sponsel, supra note 153, at 108 (citing Fabbro, supra note 153) .
279. See Sponsel, supra note 153, at 108 (citing Fabbro, supra note 153) .
280. See FREDERICK, supra note 23, at 30 (referring to economizing as an energy transforming process). My characterization of corporations as acting as a culture's metabolism is one, I believe, that Frederick would endorse.
281. See supra notes 77-105 and accompanying text.
282. See DOUGLAS W. KMIEC & STEPHEN B. PRESSER, THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER: HISTORY, CASES, AND PHILOSOPHY 1 (1998).
283. See generally John S. Hoffmire et al., Practice Note: Questions and Answers Regarding ESOPs for Family Businesses, in 2 FAMILY BUSINESS SOURCEBOOK 123 (Craig E. Aronoff et al. eds., 1996) (detailing various techniques and strategies by which employee stock ownership plans can be implemented in a company).
284. Mishra et al., supra note 65, at 186.
285. Id.
286. Id. at 187-88.
287. Id. at 189-91.
288. Id. at 192.
289. Id. at 192-94.
290. For a more skeptical view of the importance of corporate culture, see Charles M. Yablon, Mergers and Acquisitions: Corporate Culture in Takeovers, 19 CARDOZO L. REV. 553 (1997). Yablon compares corporate culture to arguments about God. To some, he says, God/culture is worthy of intense study; to the "atheists" culture plays no role in takeovers. And to the agnostics, culture might well exist, but because of the difficulties associated with it, one is better to act under the assumption that it is not really there. Id. at 554-55.
291. For a more skeptical view of the importance of corporate culture, see Charles M. Yablon, Mergers and Acquisitions: Corporate Culture in Takeovers, 19 CARDOZO L. REV. 553 (1997). Yablon compares corporate culture to arguments about God. To some, he says, God/culture is worthy of intense study; to the "atheists" culture plays no role in takeovers. And to the agnostics, culture might well exist, but because of the difficulties associated with it, one is better to act under the assumption that it is not really there. Id. at 554-55.
292. Joshua Margolis, Psychological Pragmatism and the Imperative of Aims: A New Approach for Business Ethics, 8 BUS. ETHICS Q. 409, 416-20 (1998).
293. See Johnson, supra note 142, at 392-98.
294. See TIMOTHY L. FORT, ETHICS AND GOVERNANCE: BUSINESS As MEDIATING INSTITUTION (forthcoming 2001).
295. RAPPAPORT, supra note 19, at 139.
296. See FREDERICK, supra note 23, at 144. Frederick refers to the goal of homeostatic succession and notes that radical shifts diminish the supportive system of life's web. Of course, this is not to say that all changes must be smooth. There may be some starts and stops in the evolutionary process. The point, however, remains that radical change involves significant risk to the beings living in the midst of such change and that the techno-symbolic ability of human beings can be used, particularly in corporate life, to make those changes less rather than more painful.