Business Quote by Ambrose Bierce
“Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining profit without individual responsibility.”
About This Quote
It cynically describes a corporation as a tool that generates profit while avoiding personal accountability.
In simple terms: Corporations profit without personal responsibility.
Key Takeaway
Demand personal accountability in business.
Themes
corporate ethics
profit
responsibility
Mood
critical
skeptical
Type
satire
commentary
When to use this quote
- shareholder meetings
- consumer activism
- regulatory policy
- tax avoidance
- environmental impact
Key Concepts
capitalism critique
legal liability
business models
Questions to Reflect On
- Who should be held accountable for corporate actions?
- How can individuals influence corporate responsibility?
A Different Perspective
Profit motives may override ethical concerns.
![“PALMISTRY, n. The 947th method . . . of obtaining money by false pretences [by] "reading character" in the wrinkles [of] the hand. The pretence is not altogether false. . . for the wrinkles in every hand submitted plainly spell the word "dupe."” quote by Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ce0/ambrose-bierce-140_character_palmistry-n-the-947th-method-of-obtainin_2254020.jpg)
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)