If corporations are people, can we draft them?
A Personal Blog
by Michael Froomkin
Laurie Silvers & Mitchell Rubenstein Distinguished Professor of Law
University of Miami School of Law
My Publications | e-mail
All opinions on this blog are those of the author(s) and not their employer(s) unelss otherwise specified.
Who Reads Discourse.net?
Readers describe themselves.
Please join in.Reader Map
Recent Bluessky Posts- Could run in the inaugural issue of the Stochastic Law Journal? bsky.app/profile/mfro... March 24, 2026 Michael Froomkin
- I suspect that the actions of courtiers in a feudal monarchy might be at least as good a precedent as the ones in Henry Farrell's description of "Gooning Towards the Führer" as policy coordination" but whatever... www.programmablemutter.com/p/gooning-to... March 23, 2026 Michael Froomkin
- Jotwell Corp: Anna Gelpern, Thesis, Antithesis, Dissonance: Compliance in China, JOTWELL (March 23, 2026), corp.jotwell.com/thesis-antit.... March 23, 2026 Jotwell
- Good for you, since living in South Florida you are at least 2 or 3 days drive from most places you'd probably want to be going to. March 23, 2026 Michael Froomkin
- The horror. The horror. And a few Republicans in Congress could put an end to it if only they were willing to risk their party standing (and one must admit perhaps their safety) in the national and international interest. March 22, 2026 Michael Froomkin
Recent Comments
- KK Ho on Introduction
- Michael on Robot Law II is Now Available! (In Hardback)
- Mulalira Faisal Umar on Robot Law II is Now Available! (In Hardback)
- Michael on Vince Lago Campaign Has No Shame
- Just me on Vince Lago Campaign Has No Shame
Subscribe to Blog via Email
Join 51 other subscribers
As it doesn’t maximize profits, don’t they have a conscientious objection?
I believe that a close reading of economic policy during world war 2 might reveal that the government had effectively drafted corporations for its wartime objectives.
I’m not so sure about any other period in American history.
It seems to me the more important question is whether they can be sent to jail. When a corporation commits a crime that would get N years in jail for a person, shouldn’t it be fined N years of profits (or perhaps 0.1*N*revenue)?
One side effect of such a rule is that it would provide an incentive for keeping corporations small (a large corporation being more likely to break the law).
I wish we could
They can’t be sent to jail, but can be sued
Sure why not?
Corporations, like families, are made up of people, and the representative who would be voting on behalf of the corporation is already voting in the corporation’s interest when they hit the ballot box.
I believe, they could be.