ABSTRACT
This chapter will expand upon some of Frederic Lee’s theoretical contributions to heterodox microeconomic theory, particularly as they have concerned the social construction of the modern business enterprise, its relation to the markets in which it operates, and ultimately to society as a whole. As Lee noted, “the theoretical significance of the going enterprise is that it is the organizational mechanism by which the capitalist class gains ongoing access to the state-monetized social provisioning process” (2013, 468). With this essential understanding of the business enterprise in mind, it will be argued that (1) certain technological and legal relationships can be identified as generic to the modern business enterprise, (2) the occupational hierarchy that results from these relationships creates conflicting methods of valuation, and (3) these conflicts are mitigated through the evolution of governance norms both within and between business enterprises.
