[untenured]

I think the article is total nonsense. For starters, no jurisprudence holds that “corporations” have “freedom of religion.“ What it does hold is that corporations can function as a legal individual. They can make contracts, be held liable for civil damages, and so on. It is true that campaign donations by corporations, along with other entities, cannot be entirely banned, and it is this that really drives the anti-freedom left crazy. But the fundamental issue is that individuals functioning through the corporate entity (profit or nonprofit) retain the freedom of speech even though they choose to speak to these entities.

The idea of a corporation as a single legal actor goes all the way back to Roman times. The idea as an existing legal doctrine appears in Blackstone’s commentaries. A major case involving the right of a chartered corporation not to be subject to arbitrary treatment involved Dartmouth university, of all corporations, in the late 18th century. The state of New Hampshire wanted to take it over, and the university sued, saying this was a breach of contract. (The University had been established under a corporate charter granted by George III.)

This idea that corporations suddenly got rights because of the shenanigans of Roscoe Conkling and a few others has been kicked around in the more feverish of the anticorporate literature for a long time. It has all the hallmarks of a good conspiracy theory —sinister villains, devious behavior, and brave reporters trying to get the truth out. I’m amazed it gets the traction it does.

One of the more important victories for economic freedom, and for the subsequent spectacular rise in prosperity in the United States, was the introduction of general incorporation (as opposed to the specific corporate charters like it only be granted by the state after a specific application, which therefore generated an immense amount of corruption, with East India Company being the most famous example) by state legislatures in the early 19th century.

[null and void]

I think the article is total nonsense.

Total? Mostly I'd buy.

[null and void]

Great post! This is why I love FR, thanks!

[rlmorel]

"...One of the more important victories for economic freedom, and for the subsequent spectacular rise in prosperity in the United States, was the introduction of general incorporation (as opposed to the specific corporate charters like it only be granted by the state after a specific application, which therefore generated an immense amount of corruption, with East India Company being the most famous example) by state legislatures in the early 19th century..."

Good post.

[donna]

One of the more important victories for economic freedom, and for the subsequent spectacular rise in prosperity in the United States, was the introduction of general incorporation

Corporations have destroyed the USA. They are just bureaucracies with ruthless power.

[lepton]

Yep. Silliness.