Commendables: Borges’ Solitude

period, corporations retained their quasipublicncharacter. In exchange for certainnprivileges from the state---a legalnmonopoly, exemption from taxes, andneven the power of eminent domain---nthey would provide banks, harbors,ncanals, streets, and other public works.nThen, as now, the idea was to makenprivate capital serve the public good.nBut the idea . . .