Alternative Tracks

This text examines the question of the relationship between democracy and the modern corporation. Using the example of the railroad industry, it shows that the corporate-industrial order of the late 19th century was significantly affected by its interactions with the state.

---

At the heart of "Alternative Tracks" is the question of the relationship between democracy and the modern corporation. The longheld view is that the rise of the modern corporate-industrial order was driven by its inherent tendencies toward centralization and hierarchical structure. In this book, Berk uses the example of the railroad industry to show that the corporate-industrial order of the late 19th century - instead of following this deterministic course - was open to any number of forms and was significantly affected by its interactions with the state. The ultimate shape of the industrial order, Berk argues, depended on interpretations of norms relating to justice and fairness inherent in the law and Constitution of the United States. As the state had to deal with economic questions, it also had to answer basic political questions about the nature of the American polity. For Berk, the concrete form of this deliberation is found in the issue of railroad regulation, where courts had to ensure fair competition and fair distribution of benefits from railroad development.
He concludes that any model of state development - which includes its economic institutions - must allow for historical contingency, law and the ideological predispositions of its key players. Government, if followed, had little influence on corporate development.