Edward Coke Quotes
They [corporations] cannot commit treason, nor be outlawed, nor excommunicated, for they have no souls.
Edward Coke, 1552-1634, English Solicitor General, Attorney General and Speaker of the House of Commons, Case of Sutton's Hospital, 1612
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
A constant major issue in industrial democracies are the perceptions, rights and responsibilities of corporations. For those like Romney, corporations should have all the privileges, empathy, rights and obligations of individual people. To most others a corporation is morally and practically a different entity. See {586119}.
McCain held this view despite the fact that most other politicians of his party supported removal of any corporate restraints.
The state of Texas had an enthusiasm for executions that was greater than and different from all the other states. Their execution numbers were closer to Iran and China than they were to other American states. The Supreme Court had ruled that corporations were people for purposes of being entitled to freedom of speech.
In the Citizens United case, the Supreme Court ruled that Corporations were people in the sense that the corporations had the right of freedom of speech in general and all political speech in particular and spending money on campaigns was a form of speech. Many thought that the consequences would be terrible for the American political system and urged legislation and/or a Constitutional Amendment. They particularly attacked the notion that a corporation was a person as this quotation illustrates.
Romney was trying to explain that the Supreme Court had recently ruled that for purposes of placing limits on campaign donations, corporations were entitled to the same rights of free speech and contributing money as people. The candidate chose this statement to express that view. However, the way Romney phrased it made many people suspect that perhaps, because of his lifetime corporate activity, he really thought that there were no differences between corporations and people. This suspicion reinforced a public feeling that Romney was much more corporately oriented than he was people oriented, and that hurt Romney with many voters.
1st Baron Thurlow. This famous statement expressed the great concern and distrust that England had for corporations. Their worst fears were exceeded by the 20th century and was completely over the top by the 21st century when many corporations could control entire nations and even in America and the UK, they were very powerful and often acted against the public and even national interest with impunity. The chancellor was very concerned as to how the behavior of corporations would be controlled and regulated. For individuals, there was a combination of conscience and legal punishment to control behavior. Partnerships were an extension of individuals. But what was the corresponding mechanism for corporations? The same question is often asked in modern times when corporate scandals and excesses are brought to light. See {586120} for another version of this concern that was stated a few generations later.
This quotation is a good example of the hair splitting that is often required in deciding constitutional law.
Sir Edward Coke SL was an English barrister, judge, and politician who is considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.
