Amend the Constitution! Control Corporations! Legalize Democracy!
by Gar Smith

US - "Should the US Constitution be amended to require companies to be socially responsible?" That question was raised by author and publisher Michael Lerner in the July-August 1997 issue of Business Ethics magazine [52 S. 10th St., No. 110. Minneapolis, MN 55403-2001].

Lerner, who is also a rabbi and the editor of Tikkun magazine, suggested such an amendment would provide that every corporation earning more than $20 million must reapply for a new corporate charter every 20 years by proving that it had served the public good, empowered its workers and had a history of community responsibility. Every five years corporations, employees and community groups would require businesses to prepare Ethical Impact Reports. The discussion is being carried on in the pages of Tikkun [26 Fell St., San Francisco, CA 94102].

There is another Constitutional amendment that invites debate - amendment to permit direct presidential elections. The US people have never elected a US president. The Electoral College was given the power to choose the president because a majority of the Founding Fathers distrusted the majority of their fellow citizens. After more than 200 years, isn't it time for the US to shed the restraints of a "representative republic" and become a true democracy? -GS