--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: in 2147 governments still existed, but…" description: "\"“in 2147 governments still existed, but they were mostly for show, like the royal family in Great Britain had been for several centuries. This began in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a3/tal-m-klein-56510_corporations_in-2147-governments-still-existed-but-th_282367.jpg" --- # in 2147 governments still existed, but they were mostly… ![“in 2147 governments still existed, but they were mostly for show, like the royal family in Great Britain had been for several centuries. This began in the twenty-first century, when the US Supreme Court ruled that corporations had the same rights as people. Then” quote by Tal M. Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a3/tal-m-klein-56510_corporations_in-2147-governments-still-existed-but-th_282367.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a3/tal-m-klein-56510_corporations_in-2147-governments-still-existed-but-th_282367.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a3/tal-m-klein-56510_corporations_in-2147-governments-still-existed-but-th_282367.jpg) > ““in 2147 governments still existed, but they were mostly for show, like the royal family in Great Britain had been for several centuries. This began in the twenty-first century, when the US Supreme Court ruled that corporations had the same rights as people. Then”” [Tal M. Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tal-m-klein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that legal personhood for corporations erodes genuine governmental authority, turning it into a ceremonial façade. **In simple terms:** Corporations as people weaken real government. Key Takeaway Question the legitimacy of corporate‑driven governance. Themes politics law corporate power government legitimacy legal personhood Mood skeptical critical thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - activist campaigns - academic research - public protests - media analysis Key Concepts corporate personhood democratic theory institutional decay Questions to Reflect On - How does corporate personhood affect democratic accountability? - Can corporations be reformed without abolishing them? A Different Perspective Corporate rights can also protect individual liberties and economic growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/family/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Royal family](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/royal-family/) ## Related quotes > [The Supreme Court gives corporations the same rights as a human being. It's absurd. You can't do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malachy-mccourt/the-supreme-court-gives-corporations-the-same-rights-as-a-human-being/) [Malachy McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malachy-mccourt/) > [“Traditional English, Dutch, French, and Spanish law didn’t say that corporations are people. The U.S. Constitution wasn’t written with that idea; corporations aren’t mentioned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-hartmann/traditional-english-dutch-french-and-spanish-law-didn-t-say-that/) [Thom Hartmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-hartmann/) > [Life, especially in America, is ruled by corporations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-chong/life-especially-in-america-is-ruled-by-corporations/) [Tommy Chong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-chong/) > [Marriage is an institution that existed before governments existed. It's something that reflects nature and reflects God and God's will for us. And both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/marriage-is-an-institution-that-existed-before-governments-existed-it/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [As recently as the 1970s, the idea that the point of life was to get rich and that governments existed to facilitate this would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/as-recently-as-the-1970s-the-idea-that-the-point-of-life-was-to-get-2/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“To reason with governments, as they have existed for ages, is to argue with brutes. It is only from the nations themselves that reforms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-reason-with-governments-as-they-have-existed-for-ages-is-to-argue/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“On January 21, 2010, the Court announced its 5–4 decision in the Citizens United case, overturning a century of restrictions banning corporations and unions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/on-january-21-2010-the-court-announced-its-5-4-decision-in-the/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [I have watched people around members of the royal family for a long time now, and something very strange happens to them. They turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-junor/i-have-watched-people-around-members-of-the-royal-family-for-a-long/) [Penny Junor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-junor/) > [Members of royal families are born into a world of indulgence and entitlement, and the princelings who grow up that way may never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-kluger/members-of-royal-families-are-born-into-a-world-of-indulgence-and/) [Jeffrey Kluger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-kluger/) > [Someone once said that every form of government has one characteristic peculiar to it and if that characteristic is lost, the government will fall.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/someone-once-said-that-every-form-of-government-has-one/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [What we need is someone to abolish the House Of Lords, get rid of the Royal Family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boorman/what-we-need-is-someone-to-abolish-the-house-of-lords-get-rid-of-the/) [John Boorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boorman/) > [I have absolutely no interest in the tabloids or reporting of the royal family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-andrews/i-have-absolutely-no-interest-in-the-tabloids-or-reporting-of-the/) [Naveen Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-andrews/) > [“The meaning of sex is illustrated by two eponymous heroes of British history, King Edward VII (who flourished in the years before the First…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jones/the-meaning-of-sex-is-illustrated-by-two-eponymous-heroes-of-british/) [Steve Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jones/) > [“You want to hear the truth about my uncle? I’ll tell you,’ said Laurent, a new light in his eyes. ‘I’ll tell you what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-pacat/you-want-to-hear-the-truth-about-my-uncle-i-ll-tell-you-said-laurent/) [C.S. Pacat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-pacat/) > [I love the royal family. I even got up in the middle of the night to watch Kate and William's wedding. And I never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-collins/i-love-the-royal-family-i-even-got-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-to/) [Lily Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-collins/) ## More by Tal M. Klein > [“It’s funny how the devout pretend like they want people to ask questions, but really they only want you to ask the questions that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tal-m-klein/it-s-funny-how-the-devout-pretend-like-they-want-people-to-ask/) [Tal M. Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tal-m-klein/) > [“When railroads were first introduced, some people thought the speed would be so intense, it would cause their organs to shoot out of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tal-m-klein/when-railroads-were-first-introduced-some-people-thought-the-speed/) [Tal M. Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tal-m-klein/) > [“I’m guessing if you asked anyone from IT about the moral implications, they would likely extol humanity’s well-documented historical grapples with new transportation technologies.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tal-m-klein/i-m-guessing-if-you-asked-anyone-from-it-about-the-moral-implications/) [Tal M. Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tal-m-klein/) > [“Imagine looking in the mirror and not knowing who you are. An empty face staring back. No one. We rarely think about how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tal-m-klein/imagine-looking-in-the-mirror-and-not-knowing-who-you-are-an-empty/) [Tal M. Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tal-m-klein/) > [“This is like a reverse clown car.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tal-m-klein/this-is-like-a-reverse-clown-car/) [Tal M. Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tal-m-klein/) [Explore all 6 Tal M. Klein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tal-m-klein/) ## More Corporations quotes > [It makes no sense to talk of the social obligations of the corporation without reference to its economic obligations. The two are intertwined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-r-raymond/it-makes-no-sense-to-talk-of-the-social-obligations-of-the/) [Lee R. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-r-raymond/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Everything affects hip-hop. The question is, how does it affect the money that corporations are going to invest to put out different kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/everything-affects-hip-hop-the-question-is-how-does-it-affect-the/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [Corporations have nothing to do with values, and they know it, and sometimes say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kierans/corporations-have-nothing-to-do-with-values-and-they-know-it-and/) [Eric Kierans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kierans/) > [Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/corporations-invest-in-sophisticated-crm-or-customer-relationship/) [Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/) > [“Whatever happened in those more than one hundred years, from the time my great-great-great grandfather studied law to the time when my own father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenn-wright/whatever-happened-in-those-more-than-one-hundred-years-from-the-time/) [Gwenn Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenn-wright/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Subsequently there ensues an epoch of complex, proliferating intrigues and conspiracies among the ranks of double agents, whose agendas become so densely intertwined that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/subsequently-there-ensues-an-epoch-of-complex-proliferating-intrigues/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [I'm not only a fan of Apple products, I have stock in the company. I think Steve Jobs has started one of the greatest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kid-rock/i-m-not-only-a-fan-of-apple-products-i-have-stock-in-the-company-i/) [Kid Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kid-rock/) > [At Epcot Center the Disney corporation has focused its attention on two things greatly in need of Disneyfication: the tedious future and the annoying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/at-epcot-center-the-disney-corporation-has-focused-its-attention-on/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [There can be no effective control of corporations while their political activity remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/there-can-be-no-effective-control-of-corporations-while-their/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Since FDR's New Deal, corporations and wealthy families have been non-stop finding new ways to get tax breaks, deregulation and entitlements from the government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-mckay/since-fdr-s-new-deal-corporations-and-wealthy-families-have-been-non/) [Adam McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-mckay/) > [There's a whole journalistic-industrial complex dedicated to keeping newsprint, TV screens and radio waves clean of destabilizing scoops damaging to corporations or the state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-cockburn/there-s-a-whole-journalistic-industrial-complex-dedicated-to-keeping/) [Alexander Cockburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-cockburn/) > [They're counting on your patriotism to distract you from their plunder. They're counting on you to be standing at attention with your hand over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/they-re-counting-on-your-patriotism-to-distract-you-from-their/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) [Browse all 1,673 Corporations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“in 2147 governments still existed, but they were mostly for show, like the royal family in Great Britain had been for several centuries. This began in the twenty-first century, when the US Supreme Court ruled that corporations had the same rights as people. Then”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tal M. 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