Rutger Claassen

'Purpose' is essentially about a transformation of what it means to do business. It moves from financial to social value as the most important motivation. This has consequences for all parts of corporate governance.

Rutger Claassen is Professor of Political Philosophy and Economic Ethics at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of Utrecht University. Most of his research is at the intersection of politics, economics and ethics, asking fundamental theoretical and normative questions about the way our economies are structured. Currently, he is the principal investigator of a research project on  The Business Corporation as a Political Actor, funded by the European Research Council (ERC-Consolidator Grant). In this project, he investigates the societal role and legitimacy of business corporations. Also, he is the principal investigator of a research project funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) on Private Property & Political Power in Liberal-Democratic Societies.

Key publications:

Private eigendom, publieke macht. Op weg naar een nieuw feodalisme? Boom, Den  Haag, 2020. 60 pp. ISBN 978-94-6290-779-9. PDF.

‘De legitimiteit van bedrijven in een liberale democratie. Een politiek-theoretische benadering’, Working Paper Serie van de Wetenschappelijke Raad voor het Regeringsbeleid (WRR), nr. 43. 2021. PDF.