What’s the secret? The very existence of corporations depends on the government giving and protecting property rights. The bigger mistake? We have acted as though corporations belonged solely to their owners rather than to the civic systems of provision that gives them sources and resources to make provisions for all of us. It’s time to tell and secret and to correct the mistake.
Although there are different interpretations of the conflict that finally caused the American Civil War, I think a compelling case can be made that it was about property and property rights. The confederacy succeeded to protect their right to own slaves. Although the slave states lost the war, many people continued to believe that the purpose of government is to protect the ownership of property, and not to take it away. The fight over the control of property continues . . . in Washington, DC.
Marvin T. Brown, Ph.D teaches business and organizational ethics at the University of San Francisco and Saybrook University in San Francisco.
This book is the culmination of 30 years of teaching and writing on business and society from a communicative perspective. Visit workingethics.com for more information.
Adam Smith American Dream Atlantic trade banks biosphere citizen Citizens United civic civic conversations civic economy Civicism civic membership civilizing the economy Commons corporate citizen corporations democracy disagreement economics of property economics of provision Egypt health care reform human dignity invisible hand John Locke libertarianism Libya living wage membership money moral equality property property relations protection Scotland slavery slaves Smith and slavery Smithian economics sports sustainability system of provision the civic tobacco trade Wall Street