Corporate Personality

It has long bothered me that a precedent set in the United States by complete accident has someone translated in to world wide corporate rights. Even worse, international corporations established in foreign countries have to take little to no accountability for the laws of the country they are established in. Why do sovereign countries allow this? I have always wanted to know.

As for the consumers, as long as we live like customers we will be treated like customers - mindless masses looking at advertisements and sales as a distraction from the doldrum of work. It's an invitation to an easy life, a life where choices are as simple as green or red.

Corporations are people too

Dobbin is so brilliant at stating the obvious.

As usual he regurgitates someone else's story line with his spin. Probably never even worked in a large corporation before.

Then of course he berates people for being minless sheep and consumers.

Corporations are a legal framework that bring the absolute worst in humanity of that there is no doubt. But they are still just people in the end.

The test to think about is what if there were no corporations tomorrow? Would all that ails fall ot the wayside for peace and everlasting grooviness to fill all our cups?

No. Unfortunately not.

My Gramdma told when I was two that money is the root of all evil. Maybe Dobbin could write about that.

Boy, I've advocated this for years

It's nice to see it being talked about again.

When I do talk about it, I often get the gripe from others"Well, nobody will invest if they can't limit their liability". My answer to them is that insurance organizations (and their not all corporations - see Mennonite Mutual Aid) exist to limit liability. If the risk is reasonable, and the oversight appropriate, you'll get insurance. If it's unreasonable (ie a total ripoff), you won't get insurance.

It's simple. The corporation isn't needed any more. Let's remove all charters entirely. Those who can organize large enterprises personally while maintaining appropriate risk in the face of liability will find themselves profitable. The others won't.

And then we can stop this casino capitalism that raises prices every year and corporate earnings to match. Pension funds will get back into the habit of loaning money out at interest instead of hoping to make gains on capital and dividends.

Oh, there are so many many advantages to getting rid of corporations. Time to start now!

Operating a business as your imaginary friend...

obliged to maximize profit and market share while dismissing systemic risk, i.e., harming the economy and population generally sounds like a fantasy. These externalities of non-liability are just part of the institutional framework our government 'regulates' in favour of business while acting on the corporate behalf.

There is growing recognition that our financial system is running a doomsday cycle. Whenever it fails, we rely on lax money and fiscal policies to bail it out. This response teaches the financial sector: take large gambles to get paid handsomely and don't worry about the costs - they will be paid by taxpayers through bailouts and other devices and the financial system "is thus resurrected to gamble again - and to fail again." The system is a "doom loop," in the words of the official of the Bank of England responsible for financial stability.

LINK

Law Professor Joel Bakan from UBC wrote a book turned documentary available HERE which is a great primer, easily digested on the topic.

And we should not be shocked in the least, for in 1872 Henry Adams wrote a breaking journalistic piece called Chapters of Erie, warning of corporate power overwhelming government if not checked:

The belief is common in America that the day is at hand when corporations far greater than the Erie -- swaying power such as has never in the world's history been trusted in the hands of private citizens, controlled by single men like Vanderbilt, or by combinations of men like Fisk, Gould, and Lane, after having created a system of quiet but irresponsible corruption -- will ultimately succeed in directing government itself. ... The corporation is in its nature a threat against the popular institutions which are spreading so rapidly over the whole world ... and unless some satisfactory solution of the problem can be reached, popular institutions may yet find their very existence endangered.

So the solution found,rather than regulate or eliminate the corporate legal fictions, was to expand their powers and ultimately to get into bed with them. Enter our corporatocracy state of velvet fascism.

Vote NDP, another Party obliged to corporatism, if you want more of the same. /sarcasm

corpora ficta

I find it interesting to note that, in the past, the corporation was often compared to Frankentstein's monster.

A 1913 article in the Yale Law Review stated that the business of law, in extending person-hood rights to the corporation, "is being devoured by his own Frankenstein."

Then, in 1930, Mitchell Dawson, lawyer and poet, wrote an article entitled, "Frankenstein, Inc." In the article he quoted his friend, Carl Sandburg, who, commenting on the growing problem created in extending 'personhood' to corporations, commented that, "[p]erhaps [the lawyers] knew too much when they played with divine fire...and created an artificial person who could exercise human functions, with the advantage of relative immortality and the soullessness of a robot."

In his his book, "Frankenstein, Incorporated", Isaac Maurice Wormser writes of Dr. Frankenstein that "modern Prometheus, who artificially created a vitalized monster which became the terror of "all living things" and threatened the security and well being of mankind. The fable is not without its application to the corporate business organization of today [c. 1931]. Corporations are not natural living persons, but artificial beings, corpora ficta. They are created by the nation or state, which endows them with distinct personality in the eyes of the law, special privileges and comprehensive powers. Frankenstein's creature developed into a deadly menace to his creator."

Hubris, indeed.

The pathology of the pack!

You are so right, Mr. Dobbin, about the blight of the corporation but . . . "They typically had to have their charters renewed every year, had to demonstrate that they served a public purpose and could have their charters yanked if they couldn't do so."

Every year? The venerable British East India Company had no such restriction. As an "English chartered company formed for trade with East and Southeast Asia and India, incorporated in 1600."

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/british-east-india-company#ixzz1611S0lZX"

And do not forget universities are corporations evincing the same nuanced pathologies: indeed the pathological corporate thug acquires his psychopathic skills in the pathological environment of the university.

All levels of government bureaucracies too, no less!

Bureaucracies, like corporations, have a limited purpose . . . but they sure as hell need to be tamed in this era!

Dobbin lowers the level of debate

Anytime I see this type of rabid spittle that compares business to a serious mental condition, I question the intelligence and rationality of where it comes from.

There's lots that can be debated over the role and responsibilities corporations should have in society. But to use terms such as psychopath does a disservice to real mental health professionals.

Incidentally, questioning one's mental health was a tool used by Stalin and Mao when stifling any debate or dissent on an issue.

Forget Canada

Murray says quote (forget Canada, we started out as a corporation). Now he has spoken the reality of the situation we find ourselves in. We are sovereign sentient beings acting as corporate entities through the registration of the corporate NAME that appears on all government documents we hold. We are no more liable for the actions of the NAME than any other CEO of a corporation is liable for that corporations actions. The sooner people realize this fact the sooner we can actually save the planet. This can only be done by being responsible to your fellow man for whatever harm you do and not hiding behind the limited liability of the NAME. As long as you wish to be surety for the NAME the government corporation will continue to steal as much of your labour as you let them. You do not have to be an employee of Canada if you choose not to be. Wake up people.

Brilliant and Timely

Dobbin continues to speak out against what the majority of citizens know deep in their heart: that the monopoly capitalist system is killing us.

Like Chris Hedges, Prof. Noam Chomsky, Linda McQuaig, Naomi Klein and others, Dobbin has the courage to keep telling it like it is. And the corporate and financial elite will just keep on doing what they do.

Unless we stop them.

We are fortunate to have journalists like this.

Great coverage as always Tyee!

Psychological testing

Many years ago I applied for a job in the financial field. After being put through a battery of psychological tests I was told that I was not what they were looking for. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why not as I thought I was a very nice person.

I did get the job, but only for a lack of better qualified applicants. I now know that my having a well established conscience was what made me undesirable. I guess this is where the old adage comes in that 'good guys always finish last'.

“We need to change our way of thinking … “

Yes we do, but in order to do that we must first understand WHY we think the way we do.

Unfortuately changing our thinking about corporate power and dismantling these perverse institutions and taking away their power won’t prevent us from decending into another dark age.

Doing that will have about as much impact on controlling the cancer as democratizing the work place and rejigging the electoral system. We might witness a momentary state of remission, and the proles will rejoice and sing, "I told you so!" as they dance around crumbling corporate walls, but we’ll be no closer to understanding the mechanism that hide cancer’s building blocks and allows it to resurrect itself in a new vital organ.

leftofcentre is partly correct when he says, by usning “terms such as psychopath does a disservice to real mental health professionals. He should complete the sentence and include non-professionals.

Dealing with our descent into madness goes way beyond corporate control.

My feelings exactly. Thanks,

My feelings exactly. Thanks, Murray.

And as the Irish's quality

And as the Irish's quality of life goes down the toilet in service to the money beast, this quite beautiful movie hacks at the root: http://www.themoneyfix.org/content/video-money-fix .

It is well beyond time that people understand the banking scam that has made debt slaves of the people, that is laying waste to our planet, and that the power elite are responsible and must be stopped.

we need to change our way of thinking...

Yes, KWD, we need to understand why 'we' act the way we do...at the risk of sounding simplistic, it is the consumers of said corporations who enable them to live, more so than the structure of laws and entitlements. Yes, I can form a corporation tomorrow, but to what avail if no one purchases what I have to sell?

Yes, we should limit the forms that business organizations can utilize, without question - perhaps while we are working on that we might stop contributing our dollars to those corporations. Just for fun, why not list all the corporations you do business with?

divide and conquer

I agree VivianLea Doubt, however do not forget that corporations work together worldwide!

They have us divided up into small groups and feed us whatever BS to keep us contended.

What is needed is world wide political parties and a forum where our elected leaders can effectively plan how to neutralize said corporations.

It is time we quit wrapping ourselves in a flag and salute some monarch, because it is a trap!

Very interesting article

I remember an Anthropology prof in 1980 saying much the same thing, only he framed it like this: Corporations are the tribes of the future. For the most part they operate outside of national and international regulation, and they will work for less regulation as time goes by. They're much like a tribe, except that they (often) don't have well-defined territories. They share a common goal (more money), and work tirelessly to achieve that end. When the tribe needs more members, they just buy some.

That always reminded me of the Monty Python pirates of Fleet St short: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX61PUZ3xkI

I don't know if tribal loyalty is still a useful comparison, as corporations go far beyond the size and power of many states. But it's clear that corporations are often much more powerful than the countries they work in, and let's face it, by definition they're not democratic organizations.

For leftofcentre: If you wipe the spittle off your monitor and re-read the article, it says, "When corporations want tough, brilliant "leaders" to help them compete and offer almost limitless wealth and power as a reward, they attract psychopathic personalities." This phenomenon is well-studied - maybe Dr. Hare's book would be a good place to start?

To leftofcentre

I too have been advocating the same position as Mr. Dobbin for more years that I am a member here, and in stronger language.
Will I too be a target for you ad hominem?

Interesting that the article

Interesting that the article didn't mention the impact of Citizins United vs. the Federal Election Commision. This struck down the portions of the McCain-Feingold act that limited corporate spending on advertising during elections as unconstitutional.

It seems to get little mention, but I think it's the most important US Supreme Court decision made in a long time. It effectively allows anyone with enough money to buy elections by use of pure media saturation. They can buy or scare any politician into supporting their aims using these means.

Corporations own Washington, and now they don't even have to be secretive about it.

re: leftofcentre and VivianLea Doubt

leftofcentre ~ Anytime I see this type of rabid spittle that compares business to a serious mental condition, I question the intelligence and rationality of where it comes from.

You question. I provide an answer: Look up the traits of a psychopath-sociopath, and then look at the legislated behaviour imposed on corporations and their respective liability. Or simply click on the link I offered re: Joel Bakan, above. it's been a while but I believe he goes through this sort of analysis point by point.

VivianLea Doubt ~ Yes, KWD, we need to understand why 'we' act the way we do...at the risk of sounding simplistic, it is the consumers of said corporations who enable them to live, more so than the structure of laws and entitlements. Yes, I can form a corporation tomorrow, but to what avail if no one purchases what I have to sell?

OK, let's start here. Do you have a bank account or credit card? Of the total business profits, 30% goes to the banking centre, corporate entities that contribute virtually zero to society.

I agree, and along with voting with our conscience, how we spend our money is a major factor in how our world runs. No business survives without its suporters. I hope you are also protesting, as I am, by boycotting the banking institutions -- the biggest corporate pirahnas.

Are the people who make up

Are the people who make up corporations really psychopaths? Or are they perhaps more like Adolf Eichmann, who simply did his job very effectively and efficiently, having no mental illness to speak of, rather just a professional detatchment from his work, which seems bizarre to us considering the nature of his work? To him, weren't the Jews simply enemies of his country? He claimed that he only joined the Nazis to build a career.

Perhaps some CEOs and other high level executives can be said to have been patently remorseless in their actions, but what of the lower level? The grinders? They are part of the same machiniery, but control only their little bit of it. Do they understand what effect their actions have on other people's lives, or do they simply remain professionally detached?

Do we need to believe that corporations must be lead by psychopaths in order to do what they do, in order to avoid considering that the collective actions of many normal professionals can still have really bad results?

A Sub-Plot To This Saga

is this interesting deity we call "The Stock Market". Not even a quasi-person or limited company run by a board of directors who at least have shareholders to answer to. A monster worthy of the ancient myths - entirely created by the human mind but once born now entirely beyond our control. Indeed it is probably the only thing that can strike fear into the heart of a psychopathic CEO

of all things!

Thank you Murry Dobbin! You know the end is near when I am going to plug a CNN video. Here is a nice adjunct to this thread:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/11/21/jackson.sustainable.economy/index.html

I have been saying this for

I have been saying this for years! Corporations are purely governmental in origin (so much for all the free enterprize babble)Let's abolish both limited liability and the corporation as fictitious person. And while we are about it change patent monopolies for limited time royalties. If we need an economy of scale - and in some areas we do- it can be done, not through corporate centralization, but through federalism, like the credit union federations. Let's also push the NDP and Green Party to take up these ideas.

corporations are people...

Some interesting numbers from BC Stats (Small Business Profile 2010):

“There were approximately 395,900 small businesses operating in British Columbia in 2009, accounting for 98 per cent of all businesses in the province. About 82 per cent of these small businesses were micro-businesses with fewer than five employees.
Small businesses in British Columbia employed 1,045,400
people in 2009. These jobs accounted for 57 per cent of private sector employment in the province, the highest rate in the country.
The small business sector in British Columbia felt the effects of the global economic downturn as small business employment in the province fell 1.2 per cent between 2008 and 2009. However, small businesses fared better than larger businesses, which shed 4.6 per cent of their employees.
60% of small businesses are unincorporated. The majority of small businesses in British Columbia are micro-businesses with fewer than five employees. Nearly three quarters of all businesses in the province are in the service sector.”

Yes, samuidave, we need to consider credit unions, coops, and local business. The point here is that it is very likely that one need not make a transaction with a corporation (obviously, this excludes organizations such as ICBC, which are theoretically under the control of the public, and credit unions, which are theoretically controlled by their members, etcetera), and that this represents a significant political action. However, it would seem that this brings us back to: which came first, the corporation, or its customers? In the end, and not discounting collective action, it is clear that individual choice plays a massive role in the shape of society and our collective ills, and it is individual choice that will play a large role in changing that shape.

Should be an international campaign

We have international campaigns for all variety of worthy causes, why not pulling the plug on corporations too? It would have to be done internationally anyway, for imagine what would happen to a single country if they eliminated limited liability and the corporation as fictitious person. The corporations and the world's governments beholden to them would attempt to destroy that country. But a bloc of countries would be a different matter.

VivianLea Doubt, are you addressing me?

re: corporations are people. whatthe may have been your intended target ;) But corporations are not people, just like a hockey club is not a hockey player.

'It is important to call things by their right name', and a corporation is a legally created fiction, created by lawyers working for the elite, designed to avert personal liability of its controllers while carrying out a sociopathic quest for profit.

VivianLea Doubt, are you addressing me?

re: corporations are people. whatthe may have been your intended target ;) But corporations are not people, just like a hockey club is not a hockey player.

'It is important to call things by their right name', and a corporation is a legally created fiction, created by lawyers working for the elite, designed to avert personal liability away from its controllers while carrying out a sociopathic quest for profit.