On the Separation of Corporation and State

Should there be a formal separation of Corporation and State that is similar to the separation of Church and State, in our Constitution? This is a subject I am thinking about a lot lately. It occurred to me while I was listening to President Bill Clinton's speech at the 2003 Fortune Brainstorm conference in Aspen last week...

Imagine what our nation would be like if there were no Separation of Church and State? This basic principle has ensured that our American democracy has remained unbiased toward any particular religion; it has also protected religions from getting overly involved in politics. When our Constitution was formulated it made sense to add in this protection, because the Church was one of the main political forces of the time and posed a very real threat to democracy. But when our Constitution was designed corporations had not emerged as a major political force. For this reason no protections were added to the Constitution against manipulation from corporate interests.

However today we live in a very different world, a world of giant global corporations with billions of dollars to lobby with. Is the integrity of our democracy threatened by the influence of corporate special interests? Are our national decision-makers being influenced by corporate entities? And if so, is this really democratic; are We The People really being represented fairly in this process? It may be time to introduce the notion of a formal Separation of Corporation and State to protect our democracy from being overrun by corporate influence. I have written a full article on this subject which, if it doesn't get published elsewhere, I will post to this Bog.

Comments

[TDaulnay]

Perhaps we simply need to recognize that corporations are simply another way of governing people, that they are a form of government, and treat them accordingly. As with political government, decentralization and local control should be balanced with central power. And we should take a hard look at the 'divine right' of private property. In the age of corporate power, it makes as much sense as the divine right of kings.

[Joe]

Would we still need this separation between Corporation and State if we just embodied the idea of campaign finance reform? Either way something needs to be done before our country is completely ruined

[Cai]

There is no formal separation of church and state in the Constitution. None. Ahh, America. AMERRRRRICA, AMEERRRRRRICAAAAA...

[Josh]

I've held your idea for the past 10 years. I love it. Keep up the work. I honestly think a separation of corporation and state would in fact help out economy in some ways such as small business not getting squashed out by lobbyists from larger business. My real email is thistleknotatmyrealbox.com, I don't like to post it in fear of spammers.

[Nova Spivack]

I don't endorse voting for Nader. He's a good guy, but he has no chance of winning and this election is too important. All he would do is dilute the vote. I appreciate what Nader is trying to do, but he should try to put what's best for the country ahead of his own beliefs this time. He may be morally correct in what he is doing, but one has to be practical. If he had a chance of winning I would say go for it, but he doesn't have a chance. He should sit this one out or endorse Kerry.

[David Locke]

Sorry, but this election is too important to vote Nader. We don't have four years. This is the last four years.

We will have a theocracy under Bush. And, we will go to war with North Korea. And, if the Christians are correct, we will lose that war, then for the first time, we will be subject or the occupation of our country.

Bush believes in Revelations and is implementing it under the guidance of his preachers.

To let the Repubs run things for another four years is to come to the end of America.

[Tony Young]

Isn't it interesting that with every bloodshed on American soil we come a step closer to oppressing ourselves?

After our initial establishment as a country (post 1812 attempt to retake us, etc..) some of the biggest historical bloodsheds on American soil:

1860s - Civil War - Corporations become Political Force
1939 - Pearl Harbor - WW2 - Leads to the formation of the U.N. and other facilitators of Globalization
2001 - September 11th - Leads to Corporate Patriotism, the Patriot Act, and other eroding of rights in a manner unseen since Nero burned Rome.

Funny too, that it's almost exactly 3 generations between each step. Maybe that's because people are more willing to accept oppression if they don't have their great-grandparents around to tell them how good it used to be.

It seems that the masses need to get smart and realize what is happening and try to force the process to speed up so people will join up and make this separation of corporation and state happen before another 3 generations go by.

Vote Nader. Split the vote. Show Americans what Bush really wants and that there was a significant Nader vote. Maybe next time he'll win. Then we'll get that put in the constitution. I think it needs to be "Separation of SOCIAL POWER and State" this time, so when the next replacement for religion, corporation, etc.. comes around there isn't a loophole.

[Brian Nelson]

One more thing...
Thank God for the internet. Only through the unregulated information on the internet can the truth come out. Unfortunately, you have to sift through a whole lot of crap to find it.

Don't let them control this either. Oppose ANY laws to censor, restrict, or tax the internet in any way. If people don't wake up they're going to lose this too.

[Brian Nelson]

I'm all for separating Corporation's influence over Government. Corporations, left unchecked for over a century, are the greatest threat to our individual rights and freedoms emboldened in our Constitution. They enjoy more of our constitutional rights than naturally born citizens. While owing allegiance only to themselves.

However, separation implies both separating corporations from government and government from business (Laissez Faire). A corporation is a legal entity created by law in the first place. Of course, left unchecked, their power hungry greed consumes and destroys everything in it's path. Abraham Lincoln saw it coming and feared for the future of his country...
"Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money powers of the country will endeavor to its reign by working on the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated in the hands of a few, and the Republic is destroyed".

America's founding fathers realized this threat, from first hand experience. To keep a close check on these corporations they left it to each state's constitution. Unfortunately, throughout the years, as corporations have gained more power, they have bought off the politicians, the judges, and the media and have changed the laws to their favor. Almost all media that reach a large audience in the United States are owned by for-profit corporations. And most of it owned by the same company. They have molded people's opinions to their own benefit.

Read this excellent article for a more in-depth account of the history of corporate laws. This is something most people do not realize, due to our history books being wiped clean of these facts.

http://www.ratical.org/corporations/TCoB.html

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country."
Thomas Jefferson, 3rd US president 1801-1809

[Bob]

Without a doubt! If you love what America stands for (liberty) and fear becoming a fascist state, then absolutely separate corporation and state. Mussolini said, "Fascism should be called Corporatism".

Our fore fathers were deathly afraid of corporations. This was one of the major reasons for the revolution. Though, they left this to each state's constition to handle. Corporations were chartered for very specific reasons. If the people didn't feel the corporation was benefitting the people, they could disolve the charter just like that.

It wasn't until the Civil War that corporation tipped the scales in their favor for good. In 1887, the Supreme Court ruled that a corporation was considered a "person" and had the same constitutional rights.

Abraham Lincoln said, "Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow..."

It's interesting how "liberal" has become a bad word in America lately. Here's what Mussolini says about liberal ideas. "The Fascist conception of life stresses the importance of the State and accepts the individual only in so far as his interests coincide with the State. It is opposed to classical liberalism [which] denied the State in the name of the individual; Fascism reasserts the rights of the State as expressing the real essence of the individual."