America's culture is moving in a new and dangerous direction, as it becomes more accepting and tolerant of dishonesty and financial abuse. Tamar Frankel argues that this phenomenon is not new; in fact it has a specific traceable past. During the past thirty years temptations and opportunities to defraud have risen; legal, moral and theoretical barriers to abuse of trust have fallen. She goes on to suggest that fraud and the abuse of trust could have a widespread impact on American economy and prosperity, and argues that the way to counter this disturbing trend is to reverse the culture of business dishonesty. Finally, she presents the following thesis: If Americans have had enough of financial abuse, they can demand of their leaders, of themselves, and of each other more honesty and trust and less cynicism. Americans can reject the actions, attitudes, theories and assumptions that brought us the corporate scandals of the 1990s. Though American society can have "bad apples," and its constituents hold differing opinions about the precise meaning of trust and truth, it can remain honest, as long as it aspires to honesty.
Readership: Investors, lawyers (especially those who deal in ethnical issues), managers, compliance officers of corporations and financial institutions, directors, accountants, judges, legislators, academics.
Tamar Frankel, Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law
Part I: The Eroding Trust, Truth, and Culture of Honesty 1: The Spreading Abuse of Trust and Deception 2: Old and New Concerns 3: Towards Abuse of Trust and Mistrust 4: Towards Deception 5: Towards a Different American Culture Part II: Rising Opportunities and Temptations and Falling Barriers to Abuse of Trust and Deception 6: Rising Opportunities and Temptations 7: Falling Barriers to Abuse of Trust and Deception: The Shift to Weaker Morality, Weaker Law and Stronger Market Discipline 8: Falling Barriers to Abuse of Trust and Deception: The Hidden Changes in Legal Doctrine and Interpretation 9: The Shift from Professions to Businesses 10: In Markets We Trust 11: Why Did Legal Enforcement Fail to Stem the Avalanche of Fraud? 12: Towards an Honest Society
