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Corporations exist only because they are made by acts of legislative power of Governments

December 2nd, 2013 No comments
Cross-posted from the “we build our society” group on Facebook:
Sadly, it seems that most if not all of the progressives here want to deny what cannot be denied: that corporations exist only because they are made by acts of legislative power of Governments. They also want to deny that the special characteristics that Govt give to “corporations” are the very attributes that lead to harms to others/social ills that continually fuel more regulation of corporations by governments.

It’s hard to discern why they have these views–perhaps, because they are so ingrained in seeing Govt as their sole savior in fighting against corporate Frankensteins–but they are clearly incorrect, as a legal and historical matter.

Be that as it may, as a matter of understanding and attacking the roots of our problems, it behooves progressives to investigate and understand how government and corporations shape the incentives and influence the behavior of the people who find themselves within them.

Not only do corporations exist only because of Govt, but it is clear that the reasons why corporations play such negative roles in society and have corrupted Govt are their state-granted characteristics that would NOT exist in a “free market”. Sole proprietorships, partnerships, associations and co-operatives do NOT have #LimitedLiability, unlimited lives, unlimited purposes, and the businesses do not have legal entity status different from the owners.

Fixing our society requires fixing corporations; here are some useful reads:
http://reclaimdemocracy.org/corporate-accountability…/
http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/…/Hx_Corporations_US
https://www.amacad.org/…/13_spring_daedalus_GomorySylla
http://tokyotom.freecapitalists.org/?s=limited+liability

The fact that now corporations are easily made does not alter their essential nature as creations by Governments. But even if you want to play that game, the fact remains that to fix our problems we need to reform the building blocks of heavily Govt-influenced “capitalism”. If we don’t we are simply disempowering ourselves, while growing a fascist, job-destroying corporate police state.

http://tokyotom.freecapitalists.org/2011/12/15/occupy-shallow-obtuse-39-bleeding-heart-39-libertarian-missed-block-facilely-blames-left-corporatism-dear-left-corporatism-fault/

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The enduring successes of government policies that are spectacular failures

December 2nd, 2013 No comments

What many people, including libertarians, miss about the alcohol Prohibition and other government policies that are can be seen to be spectacular failures that generate profound disruption and criminality is that such policies are, in fact, very SUCCESSFUL — in aiding the growth of government and in serving a legion of #CronyCapitalists.

These important but understandably unheralded “successes” are why policies like the #DrugWar and “War on Terror” continue; the Drug War has a profoundly racist and socially disruptive impact and is a tool for both looting the middle class and social control, while the GWOT has paid dividends in spades to Govt, to the 1% and the Military-Industrial Complex of crony-capital firms, who are raking in trillions, disheartening young soldiers, sowing Dragon’s Teeth of hatred against the US that will bear fruition in decades to come, and justifying extensive locking down of and spying on America:

http://tokyotom.freecapitalists.org/2011/12/18/cato-held-conference-war-drugs-massive-failure-noted-feds-benefit-spectacularly-costs/
http://tokyotom.freecapitalists.org/2012/09/13/blowback-39-bug-39-feature/

Think, too, of the enduring dividends to Government and the 0.0001% that flow from the creation and regulation of #LimitedLiability corporations. Corporations, truly, are the Health of the State.

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Is a Common[er’s] Liberal/Conservative/Libertarian Agenda Possible?

December 2nd, 2013 No comments

[Reworked from a Facebook thread]

I think one of the many problems with political discourse is that liberals/progressives insist on seeing libertarians as monolithic supporters of the corrupt status quo, when in fact most of us are trenchant critics of corruption who seek allies in creating a more just and free world. Likewise, too many conservatives and libertarians fail to see or seize opportunities to make allies with liberals and each other, preferring to see knaves and fools, rather than fellow citizens who are dismayed by spiralling corruption and economic difficulties.

Call the current system “capitalism” and “free markets” if you want — even when it is a form of heavy-Govt corporate fascism that protects a few and, via #LimitedLiability and extensive, heavy economic regulation, shifts risks/losses to society and reduces the ability of the rest of us to cooperate and to work — but it is NOT AT ALL the capitalism or freed markets that libertarians favor.

Sadly, the breakdown of society that our crony-capitalist system is producing leads to even less mutual trust and greater partisan animosity. This deterioration makes fighting over government even more important — and makes it harder for both liberals and conservatives to hear what many libertarians are saying, and leaves many on both Right and Left reflexively defending counterproductive policies that do little but favor an ever-more powerful and intrusive Government, thus make themselves tools of the crony elite parasites running the show. Yet we must build bridges to mutual understanding and to changes in institutional and legal structure that will enable us to revitalize our society, our communities and our economy.

Discerning libertarians want to empower PEOPLE, not Government or Corporations — both of which are now thoroughly intertwined institutions that, by their very NATURE, incentivize insiders to make decisions that benefit themselves while shifting costs to others outside of the organization.

What are the ways we can EMPOWER people to keep each other (and the kleptocrats) in check?

They largely involve restoring accountability, by reducing #MoralHazard, through the approaches of freeing up small and accountable businesses, and strengthening society and by restoring pitchforks — by gradually winding back the false “protections” by Government that serve instead to put foxes in charge of chicken coops//wolves in charge of sheep. Here are a few ideas:

– STOP making new #LimitedLiability corporations (one state at a time) — they are the very reason for the vast regulatory states that the corrupt have captured;
– DEREGULATE at the state and federal levels for existing and NEW SMALL, LOCALLY-OWNED businesses — they will then be able to compete with and tame the dinosaurs, via “Creative Destruction”;
– REDUCE shareholder “protections” for NEW listed/public companies — the shareholders will know what they are getting into and will be more incentivized to control plunder and excessive risk-taking by executives;
– LOWER #DepositInsurance for NEW and small banks and slash their Govt-imposed regulatory burdens (and deregulate banking entirely for non-corporations, like mutual companies) — depositors will vote at least with their feet to better-controlled banks, which will succeed and will supplant the “Too Big To Fail” banks that both plunder and debase society and, because they are insured, are the subject of plunder by their execs/traders and the investment banks, rating agencies, accounting firms and traders that help them win big bonuses by loading up on risk;
– END the cursed #DrugWar and many other Govt policies whose chief purpose is to provide illusions of “protection” but IN FACT are just devices of looting and controlling WeThePeople.

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