US Constitution vs. Corporate Constitution – Tablet Magazine
But if our political constitution is that of a flawed but functioning democracy, the same cannot be said of our corporate constitution. In our corporate constitution, giant oligopolistic firms that are essential to commerce, communications, and finance operate in many cases without any regulations other than those which they themselves make.
Most of the attention has focused on Twitter and Facebook, because so many American journalists, academics, activists, and politicians live online. But the importance of social media is exaggerated. According to Pew, only about a fifth of Americans are on Twitter and 10% of the users generate 80% of the tweets. Individuals, parties, and movements were able to communicate easily before Twitter was created in 2006. Getting banned from Twitter is a nuisance, not the death of free speech.
Of graver concern in a democratic republic should be arbitrary powers exercised by companies in the real economy against dissident individuals or unpopular businesses or organizations. If businesses are banned from advertising their goods and services on electronic platforms and other forms of media; if authors of controversial books can be banned from online and physical book distributors; if political groups are banned from making electronic transactions, or having bank accounts; if individuals who hold the wrong opinions can be denied health insurance; if lenders deny credit cards to people who voted the wrong way in the last election or said something inflammatory on social media, then the United States is now a tyranny, even if the courts are open and elections are free.
ICYMI.