Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights Paperback - 2004

First line

What's going on?

From the rear cover

"Beneath the success and rise of American enterprise is an untold history that is antithetical to every value Americans hold dear. This is a seminal work, a godsend really, a clear message to every citizen about the need to reform our country, laws, and companies."--Paul Hawken, author of Natural Capitalism and The Ecology of Commerce

Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights

Unequal taxes, unequal accountability for crime, unequal influence, unequal privacy, and unequal access to natural resources and our commons--these inequalitifes and more are the effects of corporations winning the rights of persons while simultaneously being given the legal protections to avoid the responsibilities that come with these rights. Hartmann tells the intriguing story of how it got this way--from the colonists' rebellion against the commercial interests of the British elite tot he distorted application of the Fourteenth Amendment--and how to get back to a government of, by, and for the people.

From Unequal Protection:

" . . . over the past two centuries, those playing the corporate game at the very highest levels seem to have won a victory for themselves--a victory that is turning bitter in the mouths of many of the six billion humans on planet Earth. It's even turning bitter in unexpected ways for thos who won it, as they find their own lives and families touched by an increasingly toxic environment, fragile and top-heavy economy, and hollow culture--all traceable back to the frenetic systems of big business that resulted from the doctrine that corporations are persons."

"Hartmann combines a remarkable piece of historical rersearch with a brilliant literary style to tell the grand story of corporate corruption and its consequences for society with the force and readability of a great novel. I intended to take a first quick glance and then couldn't put it down."--David C. Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World

"Unequal Protection should be in the hands of every thinking American. If we do not awaken soon, democracy will be replaced by a new 'Third Reich' of corporate tyranny. To be aware of the danger is the responsibility of each of us. No one has told us the truth better than Thom Hartmann. Read it!"--Gerry Spence, author of Give Me Liberty