Corporate personhood is a rerun of having property instead of people voting.
The issue was certainly around in the last 1700s when the idea of a constitution-based government was developed. The 3/5ths clause about counting slaves was a first compromise. Slaves were considered property not people. If all would be counted then, in essence, property would be governing fully with people.
The 5th Amendment was the next point of contention. The protection of property was more geared towards protecting slave holders than a common person's right to acquire and hold property.
Corporate personsonhood was just another bite at the apple using the then relatively new equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Historically, corporate forms were about amassing capital to fund trading operations. A certain amount of working capital was needed to fund purchasing raw materials, transforming them through manufacturing, and selling them. We have gone far beyond that to the point where corporate forms are used as a tool of dominance.
The ultimate problem is that Mother Nature does not recognize property rights. Climate change is starting to make that quite evident.
Corporate personhood is a rerun of having property instead of people voting.
The issue was certainly around in the last 1700s when the idea of a constitution-based government was developed. The 3/5ths clause about counting slaves was a first compromise. Slaves were considered property not people. If all would be counted then, in essence, property would be governing fully with people.
The 5th Amendment was the next point of contention. The protection of property was more geared towards protecting slave holders than a common person's right to acquire and hold property.
Corporate personsonhood was just another bite at the apple using the then relatively new equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.
Historically, corporate forms were about amassing capital to fund trading operations. A certain amount of working capital was needed to fund purchasing raw materials, transforming them through manufacturing, and selling them. We have gone far beyond that to the point where corporate forms are used as a tool of dominance.
The ultimate problem is that Mother Nature does not recognize property rights. Climate change is starting to make that quite evident.