Resumo

CATTANI, Antonio David. Fraudes corporativos y apropiación de la riqueza. Convergencia [online]. 2009, vol.16, n.51, pp.59-84. ISSN 2448-5799.

Usually identified as an exception in the capitalist sphere, the frauds perpetrated by large companies are also an uncommon topic in Social Sciences. Asserting that illicit practices involve enormous sums, this article analyses their significance in relation to class struggle and the production of inequality. These are strategies used by the economically dominant sectors when the correlation of forces is favorable to them. With power and impunity guaranteed by business arranged on a large scale, frauds allow certain groups to appropriate social wealth to the workers as well as small-scale capitalists' detriment. The author supports the thesis that frauds concern neither a primitive stage nor an exceptional dimension of capitalist practices. When included as a pertinent feature in the analysis of social structures and relations, they allow the so-called rationality and efficiency of the system to be uncovered, bringing into question the legitimacy of the dominant social positions.

Palavras-chave : dominant sectors; wealth; economic frauds; class struggle; inequality.