I believe that the origin of the both the legal personality of joint stock companies and the corporate veil of limited liability is the Companies Act of 1844, one of the most intelligently drafted and well thought-out pieces of legislation in history, and IMO one of the towering intellectual achievements of the nineteenth century.
dd PS: I've been spending a lot of time by my daughter's bedside in hospital reading "Essays in Persuasion" in depth for the first time. JMK has a semi-serious joke whereby he claims that the overseas investments of the UK (and thus, the progress of British Imperialism) fit surprisingly well at a number of data points by taking the treasure stolen by Francis Drake from the Spanish and assuming its reinvestment at 3 1/2% compound. -----Original Message----- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Kenneth Campbell Sent: 09 October 2004 07:07 To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: Corporate Personality Doctrine >So pleasant to talk with you, and you are so gracious >too. Well, have fun with attempting to understand the >law. It is full of traps and pitfalls for the unwary. > >Ta, > >jks Thanks. I will miss your counsel. I want to make something clear, here, for others: I am not asking for cheat notes. I can handle myself in life. I am asking about the foundational elements of law (I think I even mentioned the philosophical base) in a manner our favorite bearded Rhenish son might -- because it might relate to the things economists write about. Personally, I have yet to see a real divide between law and economics. Ken. P.S. Yes, I see the divide in the way the lawyers fill in the forms.
