This chapter introduces the main argument of the book, describing key concepts such as the idea of “norm-governed productivity,” the use of norms to structure cooperation instead of prices. It then defines the concept of the corporation, describing the institution’s key features, and lays out the general structure of the book. Finally, it considers some conceptual and methodological issues that frame the rest of the book: the distinction between economic and political approaches, and the problem of trying to subsume the topic wholly into one or the other; and an argument for why a normative analysis of the corporation has to take certain features of markets and capitalism for granted.