This book deals with a subject of profound importance to understanding the place of the modern corporation in a democratic society. This is the inherent conflicts between the interest of corporate owners (the shareholders), the interest of the larger society, and the interest of the managers who run the corporations. Managers have created a shared professional ideology that is designed to preserve their autonomy. To protect itself from unbridled corporate power, government has enacted a myriad regulations to check this power. The book describes how, in different eras the balance between corporate power and government regulation has changed with the interests of society as a whole. The authors conclude by looking at the impact of collective investor action--especially institutional investors--on the efforts by managers to preserve their autonomy.