The Corporation and Capitalism

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Now, I never ventured to express an opinion on systems that seemed, to me, too complex, but with most of the world in financial crisis, I felt a drive to know how it happened. Could I find a way in this crisis to ensure that my family not suffer too harshly in the events that are sure to come?
My research lead me to the Capitalist Corporation. I understood Capitalism to be the opposite of slavery and I knew I didn't want to be a slave. The truth is there is no consensus on a precise definition of Capitalism, but a general agreement that it includes "private ownership". Well that leaves all kinds of room for interpretation and abuse. Be that as it may, the term Capitalism is thrown around wildly to support or refute any number of random arguments. It's meaning remains at the mercy of those who use it, and based on all that I have learned, modern corporations would be more accurately referred to as Opportunist Corporation.

Being possessed of a mind a little less than sophisticated, I boiled down the findings to a simpler understanding. In 1865 President Lincoln created the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery. In 1868 a further amendment was necessary to protect the black population. By this amendment the black population became American citizens and reserved the same rights as any American citizen. They had a right to property ownership for one important thing. Lincoln's better vision for the slaves that he felt compassion for became twisted and manipulated to suit the greedy. The corporate lawyers saw an opportunity to benefit from the amendment designed to protect those needing protection. They somehow won the same rights for a corporation, arguing that a corporation is equal to a man. Who in the heck agreed to that? A corporation, by definition is made of several men. It may be seen as a single entity for whatever purposes there would be a need, but how in the world can many men be seen as one and benefit from the protection put in place for individuals? There are pertinent differences, such as, Social Identity. The group does no longer possess individual morality. There is a sense of anonymity when one belongs to a group. There is no conscience in a group. The group can, therefore, feel relieved of the same type of accountability to which the individual is subject. By this definition, Hitler's regime could easily have qualified as a corporation. Wow, I wonder how many people in 1868 were saying "Uh-oh, this can't be good". To demonstrate the extent of the opportunities snatched by the corporate lawyers I draw your attention this number; of the 307 14th amendment cases brought to court between 1890 and 1910, 288 were brought by corporations, only 19 by black Americans for whom it was designed.

The laws and regulations that were in place before this, to keep corporations from excessive greed and harming citizens, were abolished and the potential for growth became limitless. As I understand it, the corporate lawyers were legally bound to increase capital. There was no longer focus on "enough", only growth. Imagine a system that was designed only to grow, there is bound to be grave consequences for such action. In a documentary it was likened to climbing up to a high peak and soaring off the edge. It would appear that one is flying once reaching such heights, but in fact it is a free fall. With the ground being so far below one does not perceive a decline until the ground is clearly racing toward the faller. It puts me in mind of "Toy Story". Buzz Lightyear was convinced and convinced others that he was flying when, in fact, he was just falling with style, as Woody pointed out. The ground would inevitably meet him...hard, but don't expect to hear the truth about it because these corporations own most of the world's media and the powerful lawyers can squash just about any indictment brought against them. Don't fear the world leaders, fear the corporations.

This free fall is the same fate of the Opportunist Corporation. They seem to be flying high, biggering and biggering, to borrow from Dr. Suess. With little or no boundaries, so many suffer along the climb to the top peak. Factories are set up in third world countries and the citizens exploited under extreme conditions. Yes they have an opportunity to make money where there was none to feed families but as the economy climbs and workers attempt to grow to better conditions, the factories are closed and moved to other suffering economies, all in a quest to maintain a 90% profit margin. Needless to say, abandoned countries revert back to starvation and worse. Really??? These corporations even go beyond the loose boundaries and break laws that attempt to protect us and the environment, because paying the fine for such violations is well worth the profit they will enjoy. Laws...bah! Big deal, just throw money at it. And so, many get squashed on the corporate's climb, even more take the perceived flight with it, and more still perish beneath it when it crash lands. Where there is no balance, there can be no sustenance.

This "dog eat dog" psychology of these collective individuals sees many atrocities, I could go on all day citing devastation, like how happy they are about war. Corporations, especially ones concerned with gold and silver ownership, actually rejoiced on 9/11, prices soared. The scary thing is what will happen when they hit the ground. It will be like a meteor hitting the earth. But, take heart, perhaps there is a solution that may be found, a way to secure a parachute mid flight. I heard a stock market trader state that until environmental conditions become a commodity, corporations will not pay it any attention. Perhaps there is a genius among us that can find a way to make that happen. Until then, I keep my fingers crossed.