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<font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Hi All<br>
<br>
Concerning our debates on political status and rights of corporations
in connection with multistakeholderism, I think the most important
recent development has been the recognition of 'corporate personhood'
in a meaning much beyond the narrow legal implication used in company
affairs and some civil liabilities by the US Supreme Court, a decision
which has been widely criticized, including by Obama. Accepting
'corporate personhood' in the political space is a certain death knell
for democratic societies as we have understood and known. <br>
<br>
I think whether we recognize corporate's 'political' personhood is key
to the MS debate. I am afraid, if we do, we are closer to the
Nietzschian vision of a higher order world controlled by these
super-persons,
while ordinary persons carry out their servile duty for the sake of the
glory of this higher order. <br>
<br>
Parminder<br>
<br>
See quotes form a news item '</font><a
href="http://www.ippn.org/node/65"
title="The Arrogance of Corporate Power Is Evident in US Supreme Court Decision">The
Arrogance of Corporate Power Is Evident in US Supreme Court Decision</a><font
face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"> ' at <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.ippn.org/">http://www.ippn.org/</a> on
the recent judgement of US Supreme Court ...<br>
<br>
</font>
<p><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">On Wednesday, January
21st in Citizens United vs. FEC the Supreme Court
let regular people; working class, low income and working poor people
down yet again. They sided with the corporate elite when they
overturned the flimsy federal campaign finance reform laws afforded by
the McCain-Feingold law, freeing up corporations to open the floodgates
and buy elections since they can now spend unlimited money in our
elections.
</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">
The Court has legalized corporate bribery of our elected officials.
</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">The Court relied on the
illegitimate legal doctrine of "Corporate
Personhood" in order to justify this profoundly undemocratic decision.
</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">Corporate personhood is
the notion that a corporation can claim to
be a person, and therefore entitled to basic human rights - also
described as political and civil rights - and have courts overturn
laws.
</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">As this decision clearly
demonstrates, corporate personhood is not
an inconsequential legal technicality. Consider this-- the Supreme
Court ruled that a corporation was a "legal person" with 14th Amendment
protectionsÿbeforeÿthey granted full personhood to African-Americans,
immigrants, natives, and women.
</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif">And literally hundreds of
laws - perhaps thousands - of local, state
and federal laws that attempt to protect our environment, our
elections, our safety and health, our right to organize have been
overturned as a result of this erroneous doctrine.
</font></p>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times, serif"><br>
</font><br>
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