Corporations Should Be Held To The Same Standards As Individuals

Former President of the United States Abraham Lincoln once quoted "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruptions in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the predijuces of the people until all the wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the republic is destroyed." Because I too share the worries of Abraham Lincoln, I stand firmly Resolved: the actions of corporations ought to be held to the samed moral standards as the actions of individuals. Let me deviate and make an observation about the resolution. The resolution refers to corporations being held to the same moral standards of individuals. This means that individuals are already being held to some sort of standard.

To clarify today's round, I offer some definitions from the Black Law's Dictionary.

Action Ð'- conduct or behavior

Corporation - an entity having authority under law to act as a single person distinct from the shareholders who own it and having rights to issue stock and exist indefinitely: a group or succession of persons established in accordance with legal rules into a legal or juristic person that has legal personality distinct from the natural persons who make it up, exists indefinitely apart from them, and has the legal powers that its constitution give it. I would like to offer some notes on this definition. The first of which is that an entity, in this case a corporation, has constitutional powers just like all other individuals in the United States.

Morality - Morality Is conformity with recognized rules of correct, a system of duties and ethics

Ought Ð'- a duty or obligation. Let's stray from the debate for a moment