Where did Corporate personhood come from?
Lexicus, who tends to have an idea when it comes to US history said this:
But on the
El Reg forums they said this:
The only reason companies have the same rights as a person is because some stupid judge way back when was bought and ruled in their favor and since, nobody has challenged that.
In France (and, I presume, much of Europe), companies do not have a person's rights. They don't need that to do business. There is no tax issue, companies have their income tax level set by law, period. A company has a manager, the law says that said manager needs to be declared in the company statutes. Everything a company can or needs to do is allowed by commercial law.
A company can run ads, a company does not need Free Speech.
Free Speech is for individuals, not corporations. I doubt any Founding Father would think differently.
And:
IIRC*, it actually derives from a note added to the decision by a clerk. This was later turned into a precedent and expanded to the "Corporations are people".
* Note that I do not personally Recall this, as it happened in the 19th century in a case involving a railroad (High tech at the time). Even I am not old enough to recall it in person.
Side Note, what really seems to chap some folks hides is that a corporation is a person in regard to rights, but not in regard to responsibilities. The "owners" are shielded from the effects of law breaking. LL stands for something.
What is the truth? What is the history behind corporations being people? Did corporations work perfectly well without personhood before "some stupid judge/clerk" decided they were people, or do they inherently need to be? Does anyone know what cases they are referring to?