People are individuals with their own identities,personalities and sense of self worth & pride. Individuals are subjected to family dynamics, peer pressure & dictates of neighborliness & civics. They follow the traditions of etiquette, proper manners & good citizenship. They are bound by rules of the community they live in, abide by the ordinances and laws wherever they are, even if they are merely passing through the region.
Each and every individual person must bear the consequences of any misdeed, be it by shame & humiliation, reprimand or demotion, loss of family, reputation, professional license, lifelihood, even incarceration or capital punishment. Individuals therefore make personal choices based on their upbringing, personal values, community standards, & fear of the consequences of non-compliance with the rules and laws wherever they are.
Companies on the other hand, feel no emotions, humiliation or shame, owe nothing to the community they do business in and if they do not abide by their own by-laws, they merely amend the by-laws to cover the breach. While individuals working in companies are liable for their bad acts committed even in good faith, companies are not held liable for the misdeeds of their employees or even their directors.
Unlike individuals, who feel pain, bleed or even die if they violate parts of their own bodies, companies can violate the their own divisions, ie dismantle their equipment or infrastructures, bully their staff or ship jobs overseas, even consciously break laws , without fear of incarceration or suffer punitive penalties. They do not have to operate in good faith or treat their employees and neighbors with respect. In short, they are only answerable to themselves, while operating under the fiction of making the bottom line and satisfying their stockbrokers. Therefore, the powerful executives in companies often operate without conscience because they are insulated by their 'corporate identity'.
For example, companies can oppose raising minimum wages for their laborers, demand that unions agree to reduced wages or ship jobs elsewhere but their executives can brazenly vote themselves bonus in excess of 10, 20, or even 30 millions justifying their bonuses by taking credit for profits acquired by strong-arming rank and file workers out of their raises, cancel benefits, raid retirement funds or plunder company assets. They can vote themselves bonuses.
When rogues ran companies, the companies run rogue with impunity. Even stockholders are powerless. Check the bankruptcy courts files and you will find that companies which file for protection from creditors often award their top executives golden parachutes to leave, when workers are laid off with severance pay.
This is why the Roberts SCOTUS' "Citizens United" decision declaring that corporations should be treated like individuals is so out of line. Companies have no consequences for their bad acts, unlike individuals who must face consequences for bad choices. How can they be awarded the rights of individuals when they do not bear the penalties?
Nations, like companies also are artificial creations. Random borders drawn arbitrarily for the expediency of powerful nations. Efforts to establsih uniform international law (treaties) to monitor humane treatment of individuals countries are not well accepted by powerful countries including the USA. USA refuses to sign the treaty against genocide, the land mine treaty, the treaty for equal rights for women, and even refused to pay our United Nations dues. 4
On the local level, a nation is only as effective as its government. When a government takes the position that government is incompetent, unable to deliver services better than private industries, the nation has no incentive to demand that government work. They prefer for government to dismantle operations, forfeiting them to private companies.
When a government believes that they have responsibilities to the American people to run government efficiently, we can begin the task of nation building, & meet the challenges of nationhood. In order words, a nation run by rogues becomes a nation with no moral compass, and will not advance. A nation run by nation builders, is a nation which can remain united & working towards a common goal of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.