Liberalism and the Reinvention of the Modern Corporation [Paperback]

This book presents a political history of corporate identity politics, showing how corporations borrowed strategies from liberal movements in order to gain privileges designed for the benefit of natural persons. Looking beyond the courtroom, Kathleen J. Frydl argues that members of Congress played a decisive role in recognizing corporate personhood and securing identity-based powers.Liberalism and the Reinvention of the Modern Corporationplaces the corporate identity politics agenda at the heart of the modern conservative movement, the crisis of liberalism, and the fractured politics that define the current American political moment.Corporations in the United States have for many decades sought to preserve and extend their power by claiming attributes and privileges reserved for natural persons.Liberalism and the Reinvention of the Modern Corporationpresents a political history of corporate identity politics. Wielding arguments derived from social movements in search of equity and equality, corporate advocates used identity-based claims not to right historical wrongs, but to peel back popular regulations designed to provide access to healthcare, safer workplaces and communities, and elections free from the influence of concentrated wealth. Looking beyond the courtroom, Kathleen J. Frydl argues that members of Congress played the decisive role in securing identity-based corporate powers. By couching their efforts to assist corporations as fair play, legislators turned modern liberalism into a strictly procedural philosophy, devoid of substantive claims and uninterested in power differentials. In a sweeping narrative,Liberalism and the Reinvention of the Modern Corporationplaces corporate identity politics at the heart of the modern conservative movement, the crisis of liberalism, and the fractured politics that define the current American political moment.IntroductionPrologue: Corporate Identity in Classic and Modern Liberalism