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> a "corporation" is itself a government creation Not necessarily. Today corporations are required to be created and maintained according to government procedu

by pdonis 2y ago

> a "corporation" is itself a government creation Not necessarily. Today corporations are required to be created and maintained according to government procedures, but that wasn't always the case. To a small-l libertarian, a "corporation" is simply an obvious way for a group of people with a common goal to simplify the process of working towards that goal while interacting with the rest of the world, by creating a single virtual entity that can do things like be a party to contracts, participate in trades, etc., rather than requiring every single person working towards the goal to individually be a party to each such interaction. Of course, to a small-l libertarian, such corporations are not empowered to do anything their individual members could not do, and they don't change the limitations of the non-aggression principle. Which already leaves out much that actual corporations do in today's world.

mindslight 2y ago
My characterization is primarily referring to the liability shield aspect, which is a creation of government policy. If the owners of a corporation were jointly and severely liable for the actions and debts of the corporation, I'd accept the explanation that it's just a way for people to come together to achieve a common goal. But that liability shield allows for a level of scaled-up investor non-involvement that creates significant qualitative differences in the resulting behavior.
- johngladtj 2y ago
  The liability shield isn't necessarily a government creation either. 90% of it can be defined by contract law, it's only when interfacing with third parties not in contract with the corporation that it comes up, but that tends to be a minority of corporate litigation.
  - mindslight 2y ago
    That's assuming some unlimited ability to unilaterally push written contracts, and with those types of terms. If businesses were able to do that, we would expect it to be prevalent for the liability they do have today. Businesses are certainly trying with things like mandatory arbitration, but it would seem like a tall order in general. Especially as it's dubious whether something like a clickwrap EULA should even actually be considered a contract (due to lack of meeting of minds), or whether that current state of affairs is more appropriately viewed as corruption.

by pdonis 2y ago

mindslight 2y ago

My characterization is primarily referring to the liability shield aspect, which is a creation of government policy. If the owners of a corporation were jointly and severely liable for the actions and debts of the corporation, I'd accept the explanation that it's just a way for people to come together to achieve a common goal. But that liability shield allows for a level of scaled-up investor non-involvement that creates significant qualitative differences in the resulting behavior.

johngladtj 2y ago
The liability shield isn't necessarily a government creation either. 90% of it can be defined by contract law, it's only when interfacing with third parties not in contract with the corporation that it comes up, but that tends to be a minority of corporate litigation.
- mindslight 2y ago
  That's assuming some unlimited ability to unilaterally push written contracts, and with those types of terms. If businesses were able to do that, we would expect it to be prevalent for the liability they do have today. Businesses are certainly trying with things like mandatory arbitration, but it would seem like a tall order in general. Especially as it's dubious whether something like a clickwrap EULA should even actually be considered a contract (due to lack of meeting of minds), or whether that current state of affairs is more appropriately viewed as corruption.