Corporations are often so focused on making short-term profits that they behave in ways that adversely affect their employees, the environment, consumers, politics, and the long-term health of the corporation. Lawrence E. Mitchell offers a criticism of this emphasis on profit maximization.

Mitchell declares that managers should be freed from the legal and structural constraints that make it difficult for them to exercise ordinary moral judgment and be held accountable for their actions. He demonstrates the extent to which contemporary corporate behavior represents a corruption of our cherished liberal values of personal freedom and individuality.