Corporate Constitutional
Rights Primer

Pollution
Agribusiness and the loss of family farms
War in Iraq, Afghanistan
Destruction of habitat
Union-busting
Globalization and the race to the bottom
Genetic engineering
Climate change
Media Monopolies

What do all of these dangerous developments have in common? How has the shared heritage of humanity and all life on the planet been stolen from us, the earth's living, breathing inhabitants? Why has a fraction of 1% of the world's population acquired great wealth while billions of people are condemned to poverty, war, disease and hopelessness?

Throughout the history of civilizations there have been countless instances of the aggregation of power and resources in the hands of the very privileged few. Today the agents perpetuating these violations of our inalienable rights are no longer monarchs, they are large corporations. These legal fictions, in principle granted existence only to benefit the public good, have taken over our public institutions, our environment, our government, even our daily thoughts and worldview.

The key to propping up this corporate machinery is the collection of constitutional rights that the Framers never meant corporations to have. Such rights were illegitimately interpreted into the U.S. Constitution by a century of corporate-driven court decisions. Because of these decisions, corporations:
  • can wield overwhelming influence over government, keep secrets and lie to the public (1st Amendment)
  • hide their workplace violations and records from investigators (4th Amendment)
  • avoid taxation and regulation (5th Amendment)
  • demand jury trials in civil and criminal cases (6th and 7th Amendments)
  • prevent state and local governments from protecting their citizens (Commerce Clause)
  • may be regarded as persons for the purpose of equal protection under the law (14th Amendment)
The key fallacies in all of this, of course, are that corporations can collect far more wealth than individuals, they have unlimited lifespan, their liability is limited, they possess no conscience nor morals, they have no need to eat or drink or breathe clean and safe food, water or air. They have only one driving force: profit. All consequences to humans and future generations are irrelevant.

We are Fighting to Abolish Corporate Constitutional Rights in order to Establish Democracy and Government Of, By and For the People

And in order to survive and thrive on planet Earth.

Please join us. For more information on corporate constitutional rights, visit our great links page.

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Center for Democracy and the Constitution
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This site last updated on October 1, 2007