--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There used to be corporations that…" description: "\"There used to be corporations that produced products. Now there are just banks that produce deals, hedge-fund-driven banks and derivatives and those th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/cornel-west-708_corporations_there-used-to-be-corporations-that-produ_826760.jpg" --- # There used to be corporations that produced products. Now… ![“There used to be corporations that produced products. Now there are just banks that produce deals, hedge-fund-driven banks and derivatives and those things.” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/cornel-west-708_corporations_there-used-to-be-corporations-that-produ_826760.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/cornel-west-708_corporations_there-used-to-be-corporations-that-produ_826760.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/cornel-west-708_corporations_there-used-to-be-corporations-that-produ_826760.jpg) > “There used to be corporations that produced products. Now there are just banks that produce deals, hedge-fund-driven banks and derivatives and those things.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Corporations once made tangible products; now financial institutions dominate, creating complex deals and derivatives that dominate the economy. **In simple terms:** Economic focus shifted from product creation to financial engineering. Key Takeaway Recognize the impact of finance on society. Themes economics finance corporations productivity derivatives Mood critical analytical concerned Type political economic social When to use this quote - investment banking - policy making - consumer behavior - market regulation Key Concepts critical theory political economy sociology Questions to Reflect On - How does this shift affect everyday workers? - What alternatives could restore product‑centric economies? A Different Perspective Financial focus can increase inequality and systemic risk. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) ## Related quotes > [We were a commodity used by corporations to make their brand look fashionable, but then they used us to keep kids out of venues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zachary-cole-smith/we-were-a-commodity-used-by-corporations-to-make-their-brand-look/) [Zachary Cole Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zachary-cole-smith/) > [Overwinding happens when hedge funds destroy companies by attempting to leverage derivatives against otherwise productive long-term assets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/overwinding-happens-when-hedge-funds-destroy-companies-by-attempting/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [It's quite astonishing how much money people make in the hedge fund business and in the private equity field, and how well-off affluent families…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-rogoff/it-s-quite-astonishing-how-much-money-people-make-in-the-hedge-fund/) [Kenneth Rogoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-rogoff/) > [If competition for Kaggle's top talent becomes fierce enough among banks, insurance companies, hedge funds - we hope the world's best data scientists will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-goldbloom/if-competition-for-kaggle-s-top-talent-becomes-fierce-enough-among/) [Anthony Goldbloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-goldbloom/) > [You can't have bank holding companies acting as hedge funds. You can't have them taking a million-dollar pension plan for Joe Schmo the bus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shia-labeouf/you-can-t-have-bank-holding-companies-acting-as-hedge-funds-you-can-t/) [Shia LaBeouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shia-labeouf/) > [ I know hedge-fund guys that are making hundreds of millions of dollars a year and pay no tax. And I want to lower \[tax\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-know-hedge-fund-guys-that-are-making-hundreds-of-millions-of/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [I think the idea that the hedge fund manager gets lower taxes than the taxi driver or the physics professor is insane. The legislators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-think-the-idea-that-the-hedge-fund-manager-gets-lower-taxes-than/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [You've seen my statements; I do very well. I don't mind paying some taxes. The middle class is getting clobbered in this country. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/you-ve-seen-my-statements-i-do-very-well-i-don-t-mind-paying-some/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Over the last 30 odd years, Democrats have moved to the right and the right has moved into the mental hospital. So what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/over-the-last-30-odd-years-democrats-have-moved-to-the-right-and-the/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [When a hedge-fund guy gets lucky because the market goes up, and he is going to make $200m, and you know $200 million, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/when-a-hedge-fund-guy-gets-lucky-because-the-market-goes-up-and-he-is/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [The average hedge fund manager is going to earn zero per cent in extra return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-bogle/the-average-hedge-fund-manager-is-going-to-earn-zero-per-cent-in/) [John C. Bogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-bogle/) > [One time, a hedge fund gentleman in Connecticut brought in a bunch of professional wrestlers and myself at a very hefty price for his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/one-time-a-hedge-fund-gentleman-in-connecticut-brought-in-a-bunch-of/) [Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/) > [I've heard that one-half of the students at elite schools want to go into private equity or hedge funds. They want to keep up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/i-ve-heard-that-one-half-of-the-students-at-elite-schools-want-to-go/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I much more enjoy the company of freedom fighters and justice campaigners than I do the company of hedge fund managers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-browder/i-much-more-enjoy-the-company-of-freedom-fighters-and-justice/) [Bill Browder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-browder/) > [It is intellectually dishonest to lump venture investors with hedge fund and buy-out investors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ferreira/it-is-intellectually-dishonest-to-lump-venture-investors-with-hedge/) [Jose Ferreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ferreira/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. 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I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More Corporations quotes > [It makes no sense to talk of the social obligations of the corporation without reference to its economic obligations. The two are intertwined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-r-raymond/it-makes-no-sense-to-talk-of-the-social-obligations-of-the/) [Lee R. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-r-raymond/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Everything affects hip-hop. The question is, how does it affect the money that corporations are going to invest to put out different kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/everything-affects-hip-hop-the-question-is-how-does-it-affect-the/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [Corporations have nothing to do with values, and they know it, and sometimes say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kierans/corporations-have-nothing-to-do-with-values-and-they-know-it-and/) [Eric Kierans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kierans/) > [Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/corporations-invest-in-sophisticated-crm-or-customer-relationship/) [Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/) > [“Whatever happened in those more than one hundred years, from the time my great-great-great grandfather studied law to the time when my own father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenn-wright/whatever-happened-in-those-more-than-one-hundred-years-from-the-time/) [Gwenn Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenn-wright/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Subsequently there ensues an epoch of complex, proliferating intrigues and conspiracies among the ranks of double agents, whose agendas become so densely intertwined that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/subsequently-there-ensues-an-epoch-of-complex-proliferating-intrigues/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [I'm not only a fan of Apple products, I have stock in the company. I think Steve Jobs has started one of the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/i-m-not-only-a-fan-of-apple-products-i-have-stock-in-the-company-i/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) > [At Epcot Center the Disney corporation has focused its attention on two things greatly in need of Disneyfication: the tedious future and the annoying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/at-epcot-center-the-disney-corporation-has-focused-its-attention-on/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-no-effective-control-of-corporations-while-their/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Since FDR's New Deal, corporations and wealthy families have been non-stop finding new ways to get tax breaks, deregulation and entitlements from the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/since-fdr-s-new-deal-corporations-and-wealthy-families-have-been-non/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [They're counting on your patriotism to distract you from their plunder. They're counting on you to be standing at attention with your hand over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/they-re-counting-on-your-patriotism-to-distract-you-from-their/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) [Browse all 1,673 Corporations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There used to be corporations that produced products. 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