QUESTIONS FOR "THE CORPORATION" MOVIE:

1. In contrast with modern corporations, corporations in the early 19th century were limited in their tasks, their shareholders were liable for the corporations' activities, and many corporations had a finite lifespan. What are the impact of these limits on:

+ Corporations profits.

+ Corporations sizes.

+ The economy.

+ Consumers' welfare, especially prices and consumption quantities.

2) Constraints on corporations were lifted after the Civil War when the 14th amendment to the constitution extended the legal rights of persons to corporations. Do you think corporation now has more, less, or the same legal rights as a person? Can you give two examples from the movie or from other sources to support your answer?

3) The movie presents a few cases of corporations passing problems and expenses to the public, or taxpayers - Negative externalities. Can you give examples of two cases and identify the externality in each case?

4) Economists often assume that firms try to maximize their profits. After watching the movie, do you think this assumption is realistic? Give two examples to support your answers.

5) In pursuing profit, the movie states that corporations often exhibit several signs of psychopathic personality disorder, including: (1) callous unconcern for the feelings of others, (2) incapacity to maintain enduring relationships, (3) reckless disregard for the safety of others, (4) deceitfulness: repeated lying and conning others for profit, (5) incapacity to experience guilt, (6) failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors. Can you give two examples from the movie or from other sources that show a corporation exhibit one or more of these six signs?

6) One person in the film stated the following: "Whether you obey the law or not is a matter of whether it is cost effective. If the chance of getting caught and the penalty are less than it costs to comply, people just think of it as being a business decision." In other words, criminal fines are just another cost of doing business. Please suggest a more effective punishment that would motivate corporations to obey the law? What would be the impact of your suggestion on the corporations' profits, products prices and consumptions.

7) A person stated that 20%-40% of children's products would not have been purchased without children nagging their parents. What's wrong with child advertising?

8) The movie discusses the issue of patenting the DNA and genes of living things.According to the Patent Office we can now patent anything that's alive except a full birth human being. What's wrong with patenting the DNA and genes of living things?

9) The film describes the efforts of the Bechtel corporation to privatize water in Bolivia, which made it illegal for people to collect rain water. Who would be the winners and losers of Bechtel's efforts?

10) The narrator states that "It should not surprise us that corporate allegiance to profits will trump their allegiance to any flag." Should a corporation be required to be loyal to a country? If yes, which country?