Submitted by Guest3478 (not verified) on Tue, 10/25/2011 - 9:44pm.
I should also point out that the notion of granting limited liability to joint-stock companies (resulting in the creation of modern C corporations) was a highly contentious issue throughout the first half of the 19th Century. It was opposed by a great many political and economic thinkers when America was young, including many of the founding fathers. The debate over this issue raged for decades, but the industrialists of the latter half of the 19th Century finally won out, and limited liability for corporations became the law of the land. Adam Smith himself expressed reservations about it in The Wealth of Nations. Many modern-day libertarian thinkers also believe it was a mistake that should now be corrected.
Limited Liability
I should also point out that the notion of granting limited liability to joint-stock companies (resulting in the creation of modern C corporations) was a highly contentious issue throughout the first half of the 19th Century. It was opposed by a great many political and economic thinkers when America was young, including many of the founding fathers. The debate over this issue raged for decades, but the industrialists of the latter half of the 19th Century finally won out, and limited liability for corporations became the law of the land. Adam Smith himself expressed reservations about it in The Wealth of Nations. Many modern-day libertarian thinkers also believe it was a mistake that should now be corrected.