Corporations in a Democracy

The central notion in the Value theory of Democracy is the respect of citizens’ status as self-rulers. He claims this implies ‘capacity as citizens to participate in procedures for political decision-making… policy outcomes that result from democratic procedures do not undermine this status.’ (20) In order to protect the sovereign status of persons as citizens, Brettschneider invokes three values of democracy, ‘equality of interests, political autonomy, and reciprocity’ (23). This ensures that the interests of every person are equal so that no person’s opinions or needs have more weight than another person’s; it ensures that we can make our ‘own autonomous decisions about politics.’; and finally it ensures that the government provides a reasonable explanation of their actions.

Brettschneider prioritizes the sovereign status of human individuals. My concern is how corporations are treated in a democracy modeled by these three principles that protect our status as self-rulers. It seems to me absurd to claim that institutions also hold this status and hence I would imagine that the same liberties offered to individuals should not be offered to corporations. Corporations arguably have greater political influence than individuals, and Brettschneider poses equality of interests as one of his principles of democracy.