“Corporations are neither physical nor metaphysical phenomena. They are socioeconomic ploys — legally enacted game-playing — agreed upon only between overwhelmingly powerful socioeconomic individuals and by them imposed upon human society and its all unwitting members.”
From 1980s onwards, Grunch of Giants (1983)
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Buckminster Fuller 171
American architect, systems theorist, author, designer, inv… 1895–1983Related quotes
Source: The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power (2004), Chapter 3, The Externalizing Machines, p. 60
Individual Liberty (1926), Liberty and Politics
Quoted in: Daniel James Brooks (2013) Poetics. Book 1, p. 72.
Book One, Chapter II.
Democracy in America, Volume II (1840), Book One
Source: Discourses (1967), Vol. I, Ch. 15 : The Life of the Spirit
Context: The value of material things depends upon the part they play in the life of the spirit. In themselves they are neither good nor bad. They become good or bad according to whether they help or hinder the manifestation of Divinity through matter. Take for example the place of the physical body in the life of the spirit. It is a mistake to set up an antithesis between “flesh” and “spirit.” Such contrast almost inevitably ends in an unqualified condemnation of the body. The body obstructs spiritual fulfillment only if it is pampered as having claims in its own right. Its proper function is rightly understood as ancillary to spiritual purposes. The rider needs a horse if he is to fight a battle, though the horse can become an impediment if it refuses to be completely submissive to his will. In the same way the spirit needs to be clothed in matter if it is to come into full possession of its own possibilities, although the body can at times become a hindrance if it refuses to be compliant with the requirements of the spirit. If the body yields to the claims of the spirit as it should, it is instrumental in bringing down the kingdom of heaven on earth. It becomes a vehicle for the release of divine life, and when it subserves this purpose it might aptly be called the temple of God on earth.
“It is a principle universally agreed upon, that all powers not given are retained.”
Speech given at the Virginia Ratifying Convention (6-10-1788); per Elliot, Jonathan; The Debates, Resolutions, and Other Proceedings, in Convention, Vol 2; Page 196
Socialism and Religion, published by the Irish Socialist Republican Party (ISRP)
"Sociability" (1910) in On Individuality and Social Forms (1971), p. 134