What if you analyzed a corporation as an individual?

[c1ue]

We all know about the Supreme Court decision on corporate donations for politics.

What if we did treat corporations as individuals, as humans?

Even ignoring the flip comments about 'Three Strikes You're Out' for corporate felonies, it is interesting to observe the result if you analyzed what a corporate is intended to do in the context of a human being.

Here are some aspects of a corporation: (Note this is not intended to describe the people who work in corporations; clearly the behavior of corporations is neither the sum nor subsets of the extremes of its component humans)

a) An inability to see other human beings as human beings, instead of objects.

b) An inability to empathize with any pain another person might be suffering.

c) In particular, an inability to empathize with any pain another person might be suffering as a result of the sociopath's own actions.

d) A bottomless capacity for self-justification, no matter how absurd.

e) Finally, the willingness to inflict any level of pain on others, including extreme pain, for the pettiest gain.

This is, in fact, the clinical definition of sociopathy.

Of course corporations are not supposed to be upstanding members of society; they are intended to be vehicles for making money.

But why should tunnel visioned, sociopathic entities be legally entitled to act in ways which individuals are not?

Hat tip: Eric Flint in his ongoing discussions of DRM in Universe e-magazine:

http://baencd.thefifthimperium.com/1...ol_1_Num_4.htm

[chedir007]

Re: What if you analyzed a corporation as an individual?

The following movie "The Corporation" also covered this topic:

http://www.amazon.com/Corporation-Mi...8934817&sr=8-1

[don]

Re: What if you analyzed a corporation as an individual?

See "The Madoff Tapes" just posted for an upclose look at a sociopath, narcissist, and more in the financial oligarchy.

[Sharky]

Re: What if you analyzed a corporation as an individual?

Corporations are simply a legal construct, and they are in fact run by (and owned by) humans. They aren't a living entity any more than a contract or a last will and testament is. Nor can the definition of being a sociopath apply to them, for the same reason.

In that context, in the way that they exist in the world, functioning corporations can and do see humans as humans, and they can empathize with others -- because humans are at the helm. It's not some legal fiction that buys things or makes business decisions; people do those things.

[c1ue]

Re: What if you analyzed a corporation as an individual?

Corporations are simply a legal construct, and they are in fact run by (and owned by) humans. They aren't a living entity any more than a contract or a last will and testament is. Nor can the definition of being a sociopath apply to them, for the same reason.

In that context, in the way that they exist in the world, functioning corporations can and do see humans as humans, and they can empathize with others -- because humans are at the helm. It's not some legal fiction that buys things or makes business decisions; people do those things.

That's the theory, but that's not how it actually works.

Because corporations have a behavior all their own - as any number of examples show:

1) CEOs who cannot control their own company - hence even the titular head isn't representative
2) Bureaucracy: ignoring the human aspects in favor of the rules of the organization

Tobacco company propagandization is a perfect example: clearly at least a few of those in tobacco companies knew full well that cigarette smoking is not good for consumers, yet the sham went on for decades. Are you telling me that this corporate behavior is empathic?

[flintlock]

Re: What if you analyzed a corporation as an individual?

Okay, who are we quoting here, master Shake or Sharky?

I agree corporations do behave like sociopaths, but like Sharky said, it's because they are run by them. People behave differently when they can hide behind the cloak of a boardroom vs face to face with those they affect.