We The Corporations: A Discussion
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We The Corporations: A Discussion
The United States of America is home to some of the world’s largest corporations and business entities. Like almost every other American citizen, these corporations have their rights and responsibilities enshrined in various laws of the land. The realization of such rights is a result of an elaborate process that began as early as 1809. As documented in Adam Winkler’s ‘We the Corporations’, the clamor for constitutional protection of corporate rights is as old as the civil rights movement. Though less public, it has been as effective and as brutal as the former. Surprisingly, the first concessions granted to corporates came as early as 1809 in the first court case that companies won, some 50 good years before submissions on African Americans and women’s rights were ever achieved. The culmination of the struggle for corporate rights occurred in 2018 with the Supreme court’s ruling to extend the freedoms of speech and religious liberty to corporations (Winkler, 2018).
By allocating companies with two of the most fundamental rights in the United States, the Supreme Court finally acknowledged corporations as people. In a sense, it is a decision that was long overdue. The average American corporation acts to influence its interests through adverts and public relations strategies. When a company operates, its actions reflect the company and not the individuals therein. Additionally, organizations can suffer punitive measures if they contravene the law as they get certain leeway from the law. While people can argue that companies comprise individuals whose interests define those of the company, companies comprise various individuals of diverse origins and interests. Therefore, if a company acts in a particular interest, it works on its cognizance. It integrates all the different parts diversified by the way, into a single and unique appeal. Companies are individual legal entities with personal interests, influence, and actions. Therefore, the decision to legally treat it as a person with exclusive legal rights is an appropriate one (Padfield, 2018).
References
Padfield, S. J. (2018). Does Corporate Personhood Matter: A Review of, and Response to, Adam Winkler’s We the Corporations. Transactions: Tenn. J. Bus. L., 20, 1009.
Winkler, A. (2018). We the corporations: How American businesses won their civil rights. Liveright Publishing.