Corporate Crackdown

August 14, 2000 8:00 AM

Corporate Crackdown is Adbusters' cover article this month. The story exposes the development of these legal fictions that are becoming more powerful than nations and suggests ways to bring them back under civil control.
posted by sudama (13 comments total)

fictions? Shouldn't this be "factions"?
posted by milnak at 9:37 AM on August 14, 2000

I think "legal fictions" refers to the body of laws that treat corporations, in many ways, like people, with "rights" that often interfere with those of individuals.

By the way, there's a Wired article that discusses copyright law as it applies to consumer advocacy sites, for those interested in "culture jamming".
posted by harmful at 10:03 AM on August 14, 2000

Oh yes - stickers and fake letters of dissolution will topple the evil corporate behemoths in no time.

If you want change, get inside the system and fight where you can have real power. Donning the camoflage gear and prancing like a Zapatista might seem like fun in the RATM videos, but it's hardly productive.

You want change? Start a conversation - start listening and being open - talk to the people whose ideals and values you disagree with. Dialogue.

To topple the Man, you've got to become the Man.
posted by gsh at 10:46 AM on August 14, 2000

I absolutely agree with gsh. That's the frustrating part, I watch Moore, and a lot of other people, all they seem to do is common pranks or public riots.

I would love to see someone set a life goal of just becoming a CEO, taking your 25 years, then, either change, or destroy the company within. Might not be all that easy, but there are better ways to get results.

There's one really evil way to take someone down. Actually, here's the thing. Michelin, it's all evil, right? Ok, get 25-35 people together, coordinate jobs for them, at such places as Sears, Pep boys and other stores that sell Michelin tires. Sabotage the tires, to where there's no way to find the evidence of sabotage, better yet, steal defective tires from the Michelin plant and sell those. Have 10-15 accidents, 25 killed top. And imagine the consequences for Michelin, for selling those tires, and Sears, for buying those tires and then selling it to the consumer. Hum, you'd feel bad for those killed, right? Well, you can have a selective process, talk to the guy, what he does for a living. A truck driver? Live. A Lawyer? Die. A Stock Broker? Die. Teacher? Live.
posted by tiaka at 11:17 AM on August 14, 2000

I would love to see someone set a life goal of just becoming a CEO, taking your 25 years, then, either change, or destroy the company within. Might not be all that easy,

It just isn't that simple. Corporations and governments of today aren't like some of the classic empires, where one single person could be said to be in control of the whole thing. Powerful as a CEO may look, their authority only extends so far as it benefits the shareholders' bottom line. If the CEO stops working for the bottom line, the CEO gets fired. Once you "become the Man", toppling The Man is no longer an option.

You can't change the system from within. It's too much bigger than you are. It can co-opt you, but nobody - no one person, no dozen people - are big enough to co-opt it.

-Mars

posted by Mars Saxman at 11:41 AM on August 14, 2000

Well, Mars, I believe that's precisely the argument of those who think that the public corporation has mostly outlived it's usefulness, no?

There does need to be a way to access capital, but I'm not sure what needs to be changed to make the stock market work the (IMHO much better) way that it used to.

The supposed downturn in day trading popularity and the recent SEC ruling forbidding the release of projected earnings will help, I'm sure; but are they enough?
posted by baylink at 12:10 PM on August 14, 2000

*Damned* fine piece. Both thumbs up. *Way* up!
posted by baylink at 12:20 PM on August 14, 2000

stickers and fake letters of dissolution will topple the evil corporate behemoths in no time

gsh, that's a little unfair. The article, in addition to offering downloadable sticker templates and fake letters has lots of information on legal strategies and community organizing tactics, including real world examples of both.
posted by sudama at 12:25 PM on August 14, 2000

I think that corporations have become like vampires in a sense. When they are young, they are vulnerable and need a lot of blood to sustain themselves, but as they grow older they grow stronger until they are practically unkillable, even if you cut off their head, burn it, and bury it on the other side of the world. By this point the only thing that can kill them is another vampire, which will then eat the brain, eyes, and heart in order to absorb the power and energy of the victim. So there is more to this metaphor than just the "corporate bloodsucker" aspect.
posted by donkeymon at 12:26 PM on August 14, 2000

so then the protestors would be an angry mob carrying a stake? sounds like a good theme for a puppet show...
posted by sudama at 12:32 PM on August 14, 2000

It was cool when all those french people actually BECAME the french aristocracy and destroyed it from within back during their revolution. And when George Washington became king of England in order to free the colonies...man, what a move. It's also rarely talked about in school, but Martin Luther King Jr. actually BECAME a racist US senator in order help the cause of integration.

WHAT? GSH, as far as I can see, any way attempt to raise people's consciousness about an issue in a creative way is a good thing, as opposed to the absurd notion that a person sneak into a system to change if from within. That's just absurd.
posted by Doug at 12:35 PM on August 14, 2000

Robert Townsend did change his corporation from the CEO position. It happened in the 1960's.

The company was Avis. He then wrote a book about it called "Up the organization!" -- well worth reading if you can find a copy. It goes into and out of print every few years. (According to B&N, it's out of print right now.)
posted by Steven Den Beste at 5:30 PM on August 14, 2000

"It was cool when all those french people actually BECAME the french aristocracy and destroyed it from within back during their revolution." You don't know how right you are, actually. The French aristrocracy at the time of the revolution didn't consist entirely of wattled gouty old-guard dukes; a fairly substantial number of the bourgeoisie had been buying their way into the aristocracy for years, mostly to advance their business interests. And it was this bunch that had a big hand in wresting control from the monarchy - they thought they could wield it themselves, but we all know how most revolutions go.
posted by lileks at 7:04 PM on August 14, 2000