The Right's push to redistribute wealth from the bottom up and establishment of hypercapitalism has created a dangerous system where corporations have grown beyond the nation states that birthed them
One of the only organizations that I know of working to dismantle the death grip of corporations from the bottom up (except for Move to Amend, which is trying to get a constitutional amendment passed declaring that corporations are not people) is Community Rights U.S.: https://communityrights.us
I think it started in Pennsylvania when people -- many of them thinking of themselves as conservative -- were shocked to find that they and their communities had no power to stop fracking under their homes, schools, etc., and that their legislature in this matter was against them and for the corporation. Their newsletter tends to be a very interesting rundown of the battle between corporate and human interests throughout American history, and they keep making the point that corporate charters are technically revokable, though nobody in power is interested in doing that.
What do you think of the “techno-feudalism” label that’s being used by some people to name what you’re describing? Some have argued, “It’s not feudalism; it’s manorialism you’re referring to,” or “It’s not feudalism; it’s something new,” but I think you’re right to say that it’s both new and familiar. I was wondering if you had some insight into that from your recent research.
This sounds similar to what i've seen in Cyberpunk novels (ie. William Gibson) where corporations have basically taken over the planet (reference Neuromancer and the Sprawl triolgy) and the wealthy and powerful have escaped into space. I think this same model underlies Gibson's Bridge trilogy (beginning with Virtual Light), albeit in the nearer future. We seem to be experiencing and living the beginning of this transformation into a global corporate reality. Scary shit.
I saw a movie called “Rollerball” in 1975 (I think it’s been remade more recently)-“The year is 2018 in a futuristic society where corporations have replaced countries. A violent futuristic game known as Rollerball is the recreational sport of the world, with teams representing various areas. One player, Jonathan E., fights for his personal freedom and threatens the corporate control.” It was dystopian fiction then.
One of the only organizations that I know of working to dismantle the death grip of corporations from the bottom up (except for Move to Amend, which is trying to get a constitutional amendment passed declaring that corporations are not people) is Community Rights U.S.: https://communityrights.us
I think it started in Pennsylvania when people -- many of them thinking of themselves as conservative -- were shocked to find that they and their communities had no power to stop fracking under their homes, schools, etc., and that their legislature in this matter was against them and for the corporation. Their newsletter tends to be a very interesting rundown of the battle between corporate and human interests throughout American history, and they keep making the point that corporate charters are technically revokable, though nobody in power is interested in doing that.
(I wrote a piece a while back about the British East India Company and the sense that one of our only tools to dismantle modern equivalents comes from local community-oriented groups: https://antonia.substack.com/p/the-east-india-company-and-the-power
Necessary though not sufficient conditions.)
What do you think of the “techno-feudalism” label that’s being used by some people to name what you’re describing? Some have argued, “It’s not feudalism; it’s manorialism you’re referring to,” or “It’s not feudalism; it’s something new,” but I think you’re right to say that it’s both new and familiar. I was wondering if you had some insight into that from your recent research.
This sounds similar to what i've seen in Cyberpunk novels (ie. William Gibson) where corporations have basically taken over the planet (reference Neuromancer and the Sprawl triolgy) and the wealthy and powerful have escaped into space. I think this same model underlies Gibson's Bridge trilogy (beginning with Virtual Light), albeit in the nearer future. We seem to be experiencing and living the beginning of this transformation into a global corporate reality. Scary shit.
I saw a movie called “Rollerball” in 1975 (I think it’s been remade more recently)-“The year is 2018 in a futuristic society where corporations have replaced countries. A violent futuristic game known as Rollerball is the recreational sport of the world, with teams representing various areas. One player, Jonathan E., fights for his personal freedom and threatens the corporate control.” It was dystopian fiction then.