Incorporation is a privilege granted by the government for the purpose of limiting the liability of investors in a venture deemed worthwhile by the public, but too risky for regular investors (i.e., lenders) to participate.
Originally, corporations were created with a sunset date, after which the corporation would cease to exist. One of the tasks of the corporation was to ensure that prior to its expiration, the corporation would provide payouts to its investors, in currency or partnership in the venture.
Corporations were never intended to be endless, ongoing legal structures with a fiduciary responsibility to reward its investors at all costs. They were merely a mechanism for encouraging investment, and the end result was meant to be a company, rather than a corporation, owned by individuals. Multiple ownership was accomplished via partnerships.
Conglomeration, where corporations buy up other corporations and become massive and permanent business entities, is demonstrably bad for human freedom. The end of expirations and the granting of “legal personhood” to corporations further demonstrated that the idea of corporations has been taken to a ridiculous extreme.
Some have argued that conglomeration takes advantage of economies of scale that would otherwise be unavailable. While this may be true, the reality is that conglomeration has been taken to what would once have been considered a dystopian nightmare.
90% of the media in the US is owned by only six conglomerates [1]. This means communications, publishing, and even the news.
The vast majority of food and other consumer products in the US is produced by only ten conglomerates [2]
54% of the financial assets in the US are held by only ten conglomerates [3]
Healthcare, the auto industry, and energy are similarly conglomerated.
This much control by so few is unhealthy.
Therefore, the following changes must be made to corporate law.
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A corporation must have an expiration, which will fall no more than 99 years after its incorporation.
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Corporations which have multiple branches, multiple production facilities, multiple research and development facilities, and so on, must divest themselves of all but one facility. All other facilities must be run as independent economic entities, though franchise agreements are permissible.
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Every newspaper, television channel, farm, bank, communication system, publisher, retail store, etc, must be independently owned by an individual or a partnership of individuals.
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A corporation may not be bought by another corporation.
[1] The 6 Companies That Own (Almost) All Media [INFOGRAPHIC] - WebFX
[2] This Infographic Shows How Only 10 Companies Own All The World’s Food Brands - Good
