Some interesting points from “The Corporation”
Early corporations, before the industrial revolution (1820), were chartered by the state to perform a specific function. The few in existence were heavily stipulated, how long they could operate, the capitalization amount, they could not produce anything that was not in the charter, they could not own another corp. and the shareholders were fully liable. Legally corps. Were a subordinate entity that was a gift from the people to serve the public good (such as building bridges), it was not a privilege to anyone that anyone could form one.
During the industrial revolution and the Civil war corporate lawyers sought to remove the legal constrictions from corps. In 1868 the civil War ended and the 14th amendment was passed giving equal rights to blacks mandating that “no state can deprive any person of life liberty or property without due process of law. “ In 1886 corporate lawyers argued that a corporation is a person as well. The Supreme Court sided with corporations and granted them the right to be legally recognized as persons under the 14th amendment. Between 1890- 1910, 307 cases were brought to court under the 14th amendment. 288 of those cases were corporations, only 19 were from African americans. 600,000 people died in the Civil war.
Today corporations are legally required to place the interests of it’s shareholders above competing interests. It is obligated to put the bottom line before anything else, even the public good. If a psychiatric diagnosis of corporations were conducted, it is argued that it would be labeled psychopathic.
With the advent of the science of gene sequencing and genetically modified organisms corporations have gained the rights to patent their discoveries. Today it is legal to patent the genetic blueprints of any life form with the exception of a full born human being. Every time a gene is discovered it is patented and claimed as intellectual property.