Fighting Back the Right by David Niose

Author:David Niose
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 2014-10-23T16:00:00+00:00

Corporate Power Grows

While the specter of racism made social egalitarianism impossible in America in the generations following the end of slavery, economic dynamics were also at work in shaping the culture. Most important, the role of the corporation as the dominant institution in American society, ultimately more influential than either the government or the citizenry itself, was being solidified. This was predictable, since corporations now employed millions, produced vast wealth for investors, and provided the foundation for much economic activity. As steel, mining, oil, railroad, and banking interests became the backbone of the economy, they wielded enormous social and political power; governments, from small municipalities to the halls of power in Washington, responded to their wishes, and individuals and families increasingly depended on them.

An excellent example of the power of corporate interests, as well as the futility of democratic efforts to restrain that power, is the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, a statute passed by Congress in 1890 in an effort to control the monopolies and cartels that were so obviously coming to dominate the nation. In the midst of the Gilded Age, public concern over the corruption and inequality that seemed to accompany growing corporate power had slowly given rise to progressive and populist reform efforts, and the Sherman Act was a manifestation of that sentiment. The law declared illegal any monopoly and any “contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade of commerce.” Senator John Sherman of Ohio, author of the law, said its purpose was “to protect the consumers by preventing arrangements designed, or which tend, to advance the cost of goods to the consumer.”25

Unfortunately, however, in an astonishing example of what concentrated wealth can accomplish by utilizing the available political and legal processes, this noble piece of consumer protection legislation subsequently was used for the exact opposite purpose. Rather than restraining monopolies and placing ordinary citizens on a level playing field with corporate interests, the Sherman Act instead was used as a weapon by corporations to crush unionization. An effort to use the act against a monopoly that controlled 98 percent of the nation’s sugar output was unsuccessful, for example, but the law was used with drastic effect when a hat manufacturer that was resisting a unionization effort sued the hatters’ labor union for calling a boycott of the company’s products. The Supreme Court sided with the company, saying the boycott was an unlawful restraint on interstate commerce, and ordered punitive damages against the union.26

The hatters’ case, with the utilization of the Sherman Act as a weapon for corporate interests rather than as a bulwark against them, demonstrates why the effective regulation of corporations is so important. With their ability to hire expensive lawyers, lobbyists, advertisers, and public relations professionals, commercial corporations are much better equipped to use the courts, influence the government, and shape public opinion than any individual could possibly be. Big law firms in this country rarely work for you and me; instead they are in the service of America’s corporate and industry interests.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.