Greetings!
Bills to amend the Constitution are finally moving through the Senate and House that are supposed to address what I see as one of the most crucial issues facing our country… the toxic doctrine of Corporate Personhood. I WANT to cheer and shout, I WANT to feel good that something is being done at last! But I can’t. I just CAN’T! I find myself fundamentally disagreeing with people I respect, bill co-sponsors Senators Wyden and Merkley and Representative DeFazio among others, because at BEST, these bills would only fool an inattentive public into wrongly believing a problem they don’t follow or fully appreciate has been solved. At worst they would do massive harm, entrench the very doctrine they are theoretically trying to overturn, and drive an even bigger stake into the heart of our failing democracy.
Both bills support an amendment that would authorize Congress to “…regulate the raising and spending of money and in-kind equivalents with respect to Federal elections.” See the problem? The PROBLEMS?
While the flood of money into our political system is devastating, it makes absolutely no sense to put regulation of that flood into the hands of the very POLITICIANS WHO BENEFIT FROM IT! The problem is NOT that we have incorruptible and level-headed statesmen eager to enact sensible reform if only they weren’t hobbled by a technicality. No, the problem is that we have venal and greedy politicians who are eager to lick the boots of anyone who might toss them a dime. Meaningful reform is not possible if the “reformers” are already bought-and-paid-for. And even if it WERE possible, nothing would prevent future Congresses from legislating to change it again!
The more fundamental problem is that this amendment wouldn’t affect the many other issues that spring from the concept of Corporate Personhood. The amendment if passed would not speak to; ”religious freedom” for corporations, “political speech”, “corporate accountability” or any of the myriad of problems Corporate Personhood poses to true representative democracy. Can corporations be jailed or executed, bear arms or vote, and if not why not?
Corporate sponsored election fraud of the type we’re facing isn’t a stand-alone issue, so it can’t be tackled as such. Corporations ARE independent ENTITIES, and it’s only sensible to treat them that way. But a corporation is not a PERSON, and shouldn’t be treated as such! Of course humans are individual entities too, but they are so much more. Humans have formal and informal obligations to others in society, but a corporation’s sole obligation is to itself. A corporation’s only ethical imperative is “maximize profit at all costs”, but a human’s varied and conflicting ethical imperatives must be balanced, sometimes even at the expense of the individual. Humans have dreams and aspirations, and we all know how sharply these dreams are curtailed by the reality of death. Corporations’ dreams extend no further than expanding market share and they know that death will never inconvenience them.
Dogs, corporations, and humans are all individual entities, but they aren’t all people. Personhood requires more than individuality, at a minimum it also requires consciousness and accountability. We should no more grant personhood to corporations than we should to dogs; not because we hate them, but because neither has earned the rights or accepts the responsibilities. With personhood dogs would at least still be our friends, but corporations have demonstrated that they would be nothing more than immortal sharks, plundering our society’s blood and treasure. Money in politics MUST be addressed, but Corporate Personhood is the dangerous fallacy that must be ENDED. These bills don’t do a thing in that direction. Don’t be fooled!
Take Care and Make a Great Day!
