Building the Green Economy by Danaher Kevin; Biggs Shannon; Mark Jason

Author:Danaher, Kevin; Biggs, Shannon; Mark, Jason
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 4332813
Publisher: Routledge

Democracy Unlimited’s First Victory

How was it that the good citizens of Humboldt—in the heat of an election crisis—were prepared to sidestep traditional political mudslinging and instead make the recall about the role of corporations? “Preparing” the community to look at these deeper issues started much earlier. “Back in 1997, what would eventually become DUHC was more or less just an informal study group of about a dozen people who would just get together to learn the history of corporate rights,” said Paul Cienfuegos, the co-founder of DUHC.

What that study group learned was shocking. The modern American corporation was originally chartered to perform limited tasks in service to the community, for short periods of time, and at the will of the people. Even banks held only six-month charters, and were required to demonstrate their community value and defend their record at public meetings before the charter could be renewed. Having uncovered this history, the group wondered, “So what happened?” They learned that despite the fact that the word “corporation” never appeared in the U.S. Constitution, over time the legal fiction known as the corporation has gained the same rights people have. These are often referred to as “Corporate Personhood” rights. Over the last 150 years, through heavy lobbying and massive funding, corporate directors have leveraged their access to the courts and legislatures to endow the corporate form with ever-expanding rights. Armed with these rights and lots of money, corporations now have free rein to wreak hazards and hardships on communities and nature while gaining broad access to decision making at the local, state, and national levels.

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