A hundred years ago, a ruling in a court gave corporations the rights of persons by radical judicial activism, an extreme violation of classical liberal principles. They were also freed from earlier obligations to keep to specific activities for which they were chartered. Furthermore, in an important move, the courts shifted power upwards, from the stockholders in a partnership to the central management, which was identified with the immortal corporate person.
Corporations at one time, were limited to their powers, with a sole purpose to assist the community(such as building dams, roads, and tunnels). These corporations had restrictions, such as a limit of profit, a limit of years that corporation could exist.Nowadays, corporations have not only controlled the media, our freedom of speech, but they also have dipped their hands into our government through their money.
In 1886, the US Supreme Court ruled in Santa Clara Country vs. Southern Pacific Railroad, that a private corporation was a "natural person" under the US Constitution, which requires due process in the criminal prosecution of "persons." Following this ruling, huge, wealthy, corporations were allowed to compete on "equal terms" with neighborhood businesses and individuals.
Once corporations were regarded as "natural persons" they earned the same rights as any human being. Quickly, corporations exploited these rights, and soon gained "freedom of speech" and the ability to participate in elections.
When the US government was first created, there were many restrictions on corporations that let us keep our rights. Corporations had limited durations; such as 10 years, 20 years, or 30 years, not an unlimited lifetime such as today. The amount of land a corporation could own was limited. Corporations had to be chartered for a specific purpose, not for anything. Shareholders had alot more rights then they do today, especially with major decisions. And also, states reserved the right to amend, or revoke charters, even for no reason at all.
Our system of democracy has been ruined, a major reason is corporations, but I won`t stop fighting corporate control, will you? |
