Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights by Thom Hartmann ISBN: 1-57954-627-7 Publisher: Rodale Press Pub. Date: October, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.61 (31 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Well written and thoughtful
Comment: Did you ever ask yourself, "How do they get away with it?" When you read or hear, what seem to be unreal stories in the news about a corporation that was caught doing the most unthinkable, treacherous thing? Well this book explains how they get away with it.
It's a great book. Well written and thoughtful. It's a powerful tragedy that unfortunately is non-fiction. The protagonist is our own democracy, which apparently was mortally wounded 116 years ago. I'm not sure what disturbs me more, the unyielding greed of corporations, our own lack of attention to defend our democracy and human rights or the fact that I had no clue what "Corporate Personhood" was before I read this book.
I mean the idea that our government currently recognizes a corporation, as a "person" with equal human rights is just wrong. Isn't it? I could understand having separate laws to protect corporations. The corporation itself is a protection against limited liability. But they also have all of the same human rights and protections that we have under the US Constitution and The Bill of Rights. That's just wrong!
Over the past 5 years we have averaged 7,000 bankruptcies per hour. This has contributed to a loss of 2.2 million jobs in the past two years. Our National Debt was $-909 billion in 1980. In 2001 it topped $-7,600 billion in debt (yes, that's $7.6 trillion). And yet in 1982 the US had only 13 billionaires but in 2000 they had increased to 274 billionaires. In the US, the richest 20% earn 49.2 percent of the national income. That same 20% own 85% of the wealth, while the remaining 80% of us own only 15% of the nations total wealth.
All of this economic disparity hangs on a clerical error in the head notes of an 1886 Supreme Court case. The language has no actual legal basis but has been spun into the most significant and yet little known lie in world history, otherwise know as "Corporate Personhood."
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against a corporate trade monopoly (the East India Co.), protected by a corrupt British government. Ninety thousand pounds of tea, owned by the East India Co. (not the British government), was destroyed, worth over $1 million by today's standard.
The US Constitution was primarily concerned with preventing this kind of corruption from happening. And so, the Constitution specifically prevents corporations from having political influence. It has never been legally amended to allow corporations to make any political contributions or to have lobbyists. And yet in 2000 corporations paid $1.1 billion in political contributions directly to the 2 main parties.
How do they get away with it? Read the book.
Rating: 5
Summary: The need of the many versus the rights of the few
Comment: Margaret Mead's "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has..." has proven right many times. Hartmann's UNEQUAL PROTECTION is a great case study: here, it's one person, a court reporter, who changed history with a set of "headnotes". Thom Hartmann discusses the case of J. C. Bancroft Davis and his impact on globalization today in his fascinating study on the rise of corporate dominance around the world. At the same time, and in the spirit of Margaret Mead, he also calls for grassroots and community action.
Hartmann's starting point is the question: How did corporations manage to become persons before the law with, at least, the same rights as human beings? How did corporations change from being "virtual entities", meaning that they were subject to the controls and supervision by local governments (and humans), into becoming legal entities equal to citizens but without the restrictions and responsibilities placed on people. How have "multinational corporations become the tail that wags the dogs of governments of the world"? Well it's the result of a US Supreme Court Decision regarding the Fourteenth Amendment. Or is it?
Hartmann delves deep into US Constitutional history to set the framework in which the fundamental issue of corporate personhood has to be understood. He traces the concept to its roots in 1886, and to court reporter Davis, the official recorder for the Supreme Court Case: The Southern Pacific Railroad vs. the Santa Clara County. Corporate personhood was introduced during this case, but not, as constitutional and corporate lawyers have assumed for some 120 years, by the Court - but by David in the headnotes. That meant it had no legal basis whatsoever. The evidence found by Hartmann confirmed that the Supreme Court specifically decided NOT to rule on the issue of corporate personhood.
Hartmann explores possible reasons why this application of the Fourteenth Amendment became so popular with corporate lawyers. He also states categorically that "he is not looking for culprits but to point out a flaw in the social system."
The impact of the misinterpretation of the Supreme Court decision since 1886 has been fundamental and has reached far beyond the United States. Hartmann traces American history from "the birth of American democracy through the birth of corporate personhood" ending with the rise of transnational corporations and their role in world trade. He reflects on the emerging conflicts between government and corporations, citing no lesser authority than President Thomas Jefferson and his conviction that "freedom from monopolies are one of the fundamental human rights".
Hartmann devotes a chapter to the analysis of the "unequal consequences" on all major aspects of civil rights and responsibilities: protection from risk, taxes, wealth, trade and (political) influence, to list a selection. He concludes on a more positive note with a call to all concerned to redress the power balance and to restore the sharing of responsibility for the Global Commons. This book should be essential reading for all interested in and concerned in our modern trade systems, whether in the US, in other countries or globally. This well researched study is a dramatic read and leaves the reader with ample food for thought.
Rating: 5
Summary: I loved this book
Comment: Like The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, I like this book because Thom Hartmann writes not only about what is going wrong today, but really puts in all the history that brought us here.
He then also lays out the solution and what steps to take to change it.
People need to be educated about who rules the world with such unfairness.
I know some many still don't know or don't understand what is going on.
Spread the word.
 |
Title: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy: The Truth About Corporate Cons, Globalization and High-Finance Fraudsters by Greg Palast ISBN: 0452283914 Publisher: Plume Pub. Date: 25 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: The Greatest Spiritual Secret of the Century by Thom Hartmann ISBN: 1571741666 Publisher: Hampton Roads Pub Co Pub. Date: March, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
 |
Title: The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight : Waking Up to Personal and Global Transformation by Thom Hartmann, Neale Donald Walsch, Joseph Chilton Pearce ISBN: 0609805290 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 10 October, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
 |
Title: The Silent Takeover : Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy by Noreena Hertz ISBN: 0743234782 Publisher: Free Press Pub. Date: June, 1902 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
 |
Title: The Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy by Marjorie Kelly ISBN: 1576751252 Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Pub Pub. Date: 15 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
