Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2001 16:49:59 +0200
From: John Anderson <panic-AT-semiosix.com>
Subject: The corporation as a legal fiction



I saw this somewhere else on the web. It struck me as an interesting idea.

 >Corporations, legally fictiticious persons, should not be afforded civil
 >rights under the constitution. The Supreme Court has seen fit to do so in
 >the last part of the 19th century. We need to fix that. Corporations are
 >immortal, immoral, money manufactuaries; to treat them as civic equals is
 >madness and the result is manfestly to relegate real persons to second class
 >citizenship.
 >
 >If we did not allow corporations free speech, they could not participate in
 >political life as effectively as they now do. If we denied them equal
 >protection of the laws, we could leash their power to democratic ends. If we
 >denied them due process, we could hold them accountable for the harms they
 >cause. If we denied them legal standing, they could not sue our citizens and
 >our governments (under Nafta they can). If we rip aside the limited
 >liability veil that corporate pricipals cower behind when committing crimes,
 >we could begin to make business an ethical pursuit instead of a purely
 >economic pursuit.

Anyone know any history behind the legal treatment of corporations as 
"legal persons"?

bye
John