Abraham Singer
I am an Assistant Professor at the Quinlan School of Business at Loyola University Chicago, where I teach business ethics in the Department of Management. My research lies within and between political theory and business ethics.
My forthcoming book, The Form of the Firm (Oxford University Press), assesses the legitimacy of the modern business corporation and its governance using tools from normative and critical political theory. I ask what principles ought to govern the internal governance of a corporation in a just political economic order. I argue that corporations are inherently social and cooperative institutions created for social and cooperative ends. They therefore have a duty to uphold certain principles of fair cooperation and inclusion in their internal affairs, and a duty to help redress injustices (or at the least to refrain from profiting off them) with regards to their activity within the market and society at large. In addition my book, I have a number of articles under review in major academic journals on this subject. Future work in this area looks to understand the relationship between corporate ethics and the demands of democratic citizenship, as well as understanding the ethical dilemmas posed by the existence of global, trans-border supply chains.
I have also begun new research projects on the relationship between business ethics and democratic theory; the nature of structural racism in America and the moral duties it imposes on individual, corporate, and governmental actors; and the ethics of organized labor.
My broader research and teaching interests include normative political theory, business ethics, philosophy and economics, the history of political thought, American political theory, democratic theory, and American Political Development.I have also made documentary and fictional films that have been shown in international film festivals, academic conferences, classrooms, and educational functions in many countries.
I received my PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto, where I studied under the supervision of Joseph Heath and Joseph Carens. I received my Masters degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2010. I have also done work with co-operative housing in Toronto and New York City.
My forthcoming book, The Form of the Firm (Oxford University Press), assesses the legitimacy of the modern business corporation and its governance using tools from normative and critical political theory. I ask what principles ought to govern the internal governance of a corporation in a just political economic order. I argue that corporations are inherently social and cooperative institutions created for social and cooperative ends. They therefore have a duty to uphold certain principles of fair cooperation and inclusion in their internal affairs, and a duty to help redress injustices (or at the least to refrain from profiting off them) with regards to their activity within the market and society at large. In addition my book, I have a number of articles under review in major academic journals on this subject. Future work in this area looks to understand the relationship between corporate ethics and the demands of democratic citizenship, as well as understanding the ethical dilemmas posed by the existence of global, trans-border supply chains.
I have also begun new research projects on the relationship between business ethics and democratic theory; the nature of structural racism in America and the moral duties it imposes on individual, corporate, and governmental actors; and the ethics of organized labor.
My broader research and teaching interests include normative political theory, business ethics, philosophy and economics, the history of political thought, American political theory, democratic theory, and American Political Development.I have also made documentary and fictional films that have been shown in international film festivals, academic conferences, classrooms, and educational functions in many countries.
I received my PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto, where I studied under the supervision of Joseph Heath and Joseph Carens. I received my Masters degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2010. I have also done work with co-operative housing in Toronto and New York City.
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Book by Abraham Singer
In The Form of the Firm, Abraham Singer contends that such a view rests on a theoretical foundation that, while quite subtle, is deeply flawed. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, corporations are not natural outgrowths of the free market. Instead, Singer invites us to see corporations as political institutions that correct market inefficiencies through mechanisms normally associated with government -hierarchy, power, and state-sanctioned authority. Corporations exist primarily to increase economic efficiency, but they do this in ways that distinguish them from the markets in which they operate. Corporations serve economic ends, but through political means. Because of this, Singer argues that they also must be structured and obliged to uphold the social and political values that enable their existence and smooth-running in the first place: individual autonomy, moral and social equality, and democratic norms and institutions.
A profound and timely rethinking of what a corporation actually is and how power within it ought to be structured and exercised, The Form of the Firm will reshape our understanding of political theory, corporate governance, corporate law, and business ethics.
Papers by Abraham Singer
commercial activity as a social subcontract, in which businesses are empowered to exercise their judgment in pursuit of parochial interests, but for broader social reasons. Such license, however, puts businesses in a position to use this judgment in ways that unduly influence broader political processes. Given this, business ethics should be seen as indispensable for normative democratic theory, as it offers a conception of how business leaders should discharge their discretionary power in a manner least offensive to democratic principles. Drawing on a pragmatist
understanding of democracy, we contend that businesses must respect, and avoid undermining, the formal and informal processes that characterize democratic politics. We conclude with a rough sketch of what this looks like in practice, listing three broad sets of desiderata that a social subcontract seems to demand of businesses vis-à-vis democracy
traditional definition, are still deserving of protections against exploitation and discrimination and still require safe work conditions and the ability to bargain collectively over these terms.
In The Form of the Firm, Abraham Singer contends that such a view rests on a theoretical foundation that, while quite subtle, is deeply flawed. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, corporations are not natural outgrowths of the free market. Instead, Singer invites us to see corporations as political institutions that correct market inefficiencies through mechanisms normally associated with government -hierarchy, power, and state-sanctioned authority. Corporations exist primarily to increase economic efficiency, but they do this in ways that distinguish them from the markets in which they operate. Corporations serve economic ends, but through political means. Because of this, Singer argues that they also must be structured and obliged to uphold the social and political values that enable their existence and smooth-running in the first place: individual autonomy, moral and social equality, and democratic norms and institutions.
A profound and timely rethinking of what a corporation actually is and how power within it ought to be structured and exercised, The Form of the Firm will reshape our understanding of political theory, corporate governance, corporate law, and business ethics.
commercial activity as a social subcontract, in which businesses are empowered to exercise their judgment in pursuit of parochial interests, but for broader social reasons. Such license, however, puts businesses in a position to use this judgment in ways that unduly influence broader political processes. Given this, business ethics should be seen as indispensable for normative democratic theory, as it offers a conception of how business leaders should discharge their discretionary power in a manner least offensive to democratic principles. Drawing on a pragmatist
understanding of democracy, we contend that businesses must respect, and avoid undermining, the formal and informal processes that characterize democratic politics. We conclude with a rough sketch of what this looks like in practice, listing three broad sets of desiderata that a social subcontract seems to demand of businesses vis-à-vis democracy
traditional definition, are still deserving of protections against exploitation and discrimination and still require safe work conditions and the ability to bargain collectively over these terms.
*Some copyediting still remains to be done. Please excuse awkward citations, formatting, or typos.
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