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Re: Forwarded: human rights / corp. entities
Matthew Hill (mhill@WATARTS.UWATERLOO.CA)
Fri, 30 Dec 1994 16:27:33 -0500
On Fri, 30 Dec 1994, Lief M. Hendrickson wrote:
> > = post by James Barnes on Dec. 30
>
> >The position of corporations and other corporate identities has come up
> >a couple of times and I thought I would throw in a clarification.
> >
> >Under the law a corporation is not a group, it is an individual.
> --------------------
>
> To: James Barnes
>
> Your point is correct with regard to how a corporation is treated
> "under the law". In actuality, however, most corporations
> represent an underlying group, namely the officers and
> stockholders. The individual who incorporates him or herself is
> is an exception. How our legal system identifies and treats this
> entity called a corporation does not change the fact that it is
> really a group in terms of being a number of persons related in
> some way. It's a matter of whether you want to use a legal
> definition or one based on actual composition. By the way, legal
> treatment of a corporation is similar to that of an individual in
> some respects but not all. For example, a corporation is
> considered to have a (theoretical) infinite life under the law.
>
> A legal partnership presents a similar situation. The
> partnership is an entity under the law but is composed of a group
> of individuals- the partners. In the case of a limited
> partnership, only the general partner is accountable for the
> actions of the partnership.
>
> Perhaps there are some more aspects of cultural label vs. actual
> composition that may be of further interest.
>
> Lief Hendrickson
>
It's been a long time since I took Social Anthropology, but I seem
to recall the usage in that milieu of the term 'corporate group'
in a way quite analogous (probably even homologous) with corporation
as defined by James Barnes above, that is, as an entity which had
rights and responsibilities distinct from those of the individuals
who made it up. That seems a useful and important distinction.
Corporate entities - General Motors or the Raven Lineage-
can exist unchanged (in principle) over time even though the set of
individuals involved changes completely.
Matthew Hill - About to leave an unheated office -
Happy New Year
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