Presented by Willard Hurst as part of his course "Introduction to Modern American Legal History" at the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1978. Hurst begins this discussion using Christopher Stone's essay to reveal an increased criticism of the market as an institution of allocating resources. He discusses the history and recent development of class action suits to combat broad social problems. Closing out the tape, Hurst begins a review of anti-trust and corporation law. There are five stages in the development of public policy toward the use of corporation law in business. The first stage is very high and jealous public policy suspicion of the corporate entity. Hurst continues his discussion of the five stages in the development of public policy toward corporation law in business. The second stage was the General Incorporation Act, which recognized the corporate firm may be available for business operation. Stage three involved states amending their constitutions to create a standardized method to award special charters. The fourth stage incorporated holding companies. Legislatures moved away from built in regulation and awarded broad legal discretion to management. The fifth stage required management to operate within a legal framework (i.e. FDA, SEC).
