To: Sr K who wrote (18979 ) 5/22/2024 8:28:24 PM From: Sun Tzu 2 RecommendationsRecommended By
Read Replies (1) | Respond to A few things on Corporation personhood vs statehood/governmentsCorporations rarely embody the norms we expect of the people or even small businesses. Rather, corporate governments today often look like the governments of a bygone era. Americans long ago rejected the idea that only people who own property should be allowed to vote for representatives — yet most business corporations operate under a principle of one-share, one-vote. Americans have also rejected the idea that women, people of color, and other groups that contribute to the country’s welfare should be denied the right to vote — yet few corporations allow workers, consumers, or even shareholders to vote on which political causes their corporation will support. So the root of the argument is not really against corporations. It is about the unfair advantages and treatments that corporations get and individuals are denied. By extension, it is also about unequal treatment of the people who influence corporate actions vs the rest of the community. Current treatment of corporations denies the society of equal treatment and creates rigid social classes and inequality. For the record, I do not believe that everyone is equal or that the society should push for everyone to become equal. But I do believe that the society should do its best to provide equal opportunities or at least equal rights to everyone.I want to see corporations treated as what they truly are: a virtual construct designed to govern groups of individuals. As such, I would not tax corporations at all. But nor would I afford them many rights as an entity. Rather I would allow the owners to exercise those rights. Similarly, I would limit the extent to which corporations can be prosecuted in courts. But I would expand prosecution of individual members that make/made up the corporation. In my version there would be no (ok very limited) corporate drug settlements for opioid cases. Rather I would drag the board members and major shareholders through the courts. They would face real monetary and criminal charges. No hiding behind the corporate shield. I bet board members would behave more ethically if they feared that they'd have to show up in courts for years and potentially go to prison. In my version, the criminal charges bar is much lower. ========= Zen teaches us that our brains are very literal. That when we put a name on something, we obscure its true nature. Nowhere is this concept is more clearly demonstrated than in "corporation".
