San Diego Law Review
Document Type
Article
Abstract
American society and law display a deep reverence for the group, as long as it assumes corporate or quasi-corporate form. This reverence is not fleeting; rather, it has deep historical roots. In fact, it was there before the republic came into being and it played a profound role in the founding of the nation. Moreover, these roots are not only traditional, but philosophical and religious as well. This Article explores those roots, with three goals in mind. First, to correct the mistaken notion that American law has historically demonstrated a commitment to the individual at the expense of the group, and to suggest how this critique should be restated. Second, to re-evaluate modem cases that are often thought to stand for expressions of individual rights, as cases actually protective of group rights. Third, to contend that American reverence for the corporate form explains why America's favorite group---the corporation-came to be as powerful as it is today."
Recommended Citation
Liam S. O'Melinn,
The Sanctity of Association: The Corporation and Individualism in American Law,
37
San Diego L. Rev.
(2000).
Available at:
https://digital.sandiego.edu/sdlr/vol37/iss1/4