The Corporation, Part 1

Today I watched the movie, that everybody should take time to watch: The Corporation (movie), and decided to do some more digging about the issues shown there. In the first part of this post I will try to find out more about how the corporation became to be a person. A person? really?

First lets find out what is a definition of a corporation.
In a Business Dictionary I read that "a corporation is a legal entity, chartered by a state or the federal government, and separate and distinct from the persons who own it, giving rise to a jurist's remark that it has ‘neither a soul to damn nor a body to kick.' Nonetheless, it is regarded by the courts as an artificial person; it may own property, incur debts, sue, or be sued. It has four chief distinguishing features: (1) limited liability (owners can lose only what they invest); (2) easy transfer of ownership through the sale of shares of stock; (3) continuity of existence; and (4) centralized management. Other factors helping to explain the popularity of the corporate form of organization are its ability to obtain capital through expanded ownership, and the shareholders' ability to profit from the growth of the business."

What happened in the time between the declaration of independence from England in 1776 and the time when the corporation became this person in 1886 (Santa Clara County v Southern Pacific Railroad) ?
Corporations were forbidden from attempting to influence elections, public policy, and other realms of civic society and were limited exclusively to a business role. At this time the privilege of incorporation was granted only to enable the activities that benefited the public. The states also implemented conditions like these:
* Corporate charters were granted for a limited time and could be revoked promptly for violating laws.
* Corporations could engage only in activities necessary to fulfill their chartered purpose.
* Corporations could not own stock in other corporations nor own any property that was not essential to fulfilling their chartered purpose.
* Corporations were often terminated if they exceeded their authority or caused public harm.
* Owners and managers were responsible for criminal acts committed on the job.
* Corporations could not make any political or charitable contributions nor spend money to influence law-making.
Also because of public opposition  only few corporate charters were granted and always after the public debate.
But in 1819 the U.S. Supreme Court extended the protection of the Contracts Clause of Article I, section 10 of the Constitution to corporate charters, treating them as contracts between the state and entrepreneurs. Some sources are saying that Dartmouth College Case prevented arbitrary state interference with charters, thereby giving some security to investors. But in the same time this ruling took the sovereignty of the citizens away to decide how they want to rule their local, state economy. In the following years, many new laws were written and re-written to amended states constitutions to make corporate charters subject to alteration or revocation by their legislatures. In 1855 the Supreme Court reaffirmed state's powers over "artificial bodies" (Dodge v Woolsey).
But the corporations were pushing their agenda. Winning this contest meant to have control over labor, resources, community rights, and political sovereignty.
One of the most severe blows to citizen authority arose out of the 1886 Supreme Court case of Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad where Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite stated that corporations were “persons” within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause
( Fourteenth Amendment )
After this ruling corporations increased control over resources, jobs, commerce, politicians, even judges and the law. Another instance of constitutional protection for the "artificial person" called corporation came in First National Bank v. Bellotti (1978), where the Court extended the First Amendment's protection to corporate political speech ( First Amendment ).

Well, this is the bottom line: corporations are artificial persons with neither a soul to damn nor a body to kick. They have all the constitutional protections that a real person has, but without any real responsibility. By law, the corporation can only consider the interests of their shareholders. It is legally bound to put its bottom line before everything else, even the public good. Which means, that the only value those "persons" are representing is profit, nothing more nothing less.

PS.: The film is based on the book "The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power" by Joel Bakan (Book ).