America as a Corporation

The American way of life is full of contradictions and hypocrisies. Those who are supportive of this system often call it complex, I prefer to call it hypocritical. Why is it that there are so many contradictions of rhetoric and mission within the so-called American dream? If the United States of America were evaluated on the basis that businesses are legally bound to their shareholders, the government would be branded corrupt, bankrupt and probably would be forced to disband.

Consider this for a moment. If it is the responsibility of the state to ensure all of its citizens (shareholders/taxpayers) certain rights which include but are not limited to life, liberty and the pursuit of happines, how would the portfolio (past and present performance) of government fare? It takes but a brief history lesson to outline the legacy of benign and malignant neglect to nearly every racial/ethnic group in American history--those of African descent particulary apparent. Even the present managerial class of so-called "white Americans" were promoted based on their willingness to further exploit other immigrant groups who were not deemed as "(q)white-worthy" of promotion. If the American system were comparable to a fraternity or a sorority, perhaps this type of hazing before admission to certain privileges would be acceptable but if we adhere to a corporate model of accountability regarding the responsibility of a nation-state, these abuses evidence corruption beyond redress .

Historically, millions of marginalized poor have invested in a governmental corporation that has not made returns on invested capital (given greater value back on the resources invested) to the largest base of its shareholders. Instead, through a process of racialization, class stratification, and gender discrimination, the shareholders have been systematically defrauded and exploited.

As citizens/shareholders in a corporation that has been characterized by abuses of its senior executives, most often stemming from racist/patriachial/hegemonic assumptions by the president/CEO himself, we need to think about ways to demand accountability or divest entirely. We should move beyond the notion of exposing abuses and move into the realm of demanding redress. It is only when we understand the relationship between economic rights, civil rights and human rights that we can understand the true relation of government to people. There can be no redress without civic reform AND economic reparation.