The separate existence of a corporation is said to be a legal myth. Discuss the development of this myth and its value in our society today.

The development of corporations can be traced back to royal charters and the creation of towns, universities, and the like. This was extended to business enterprises in the form of joint stock companies, and eventually led to the practice of incorporating private corporations that we know today. An essential element of this process was the recognition of the thing created as a separate legal personality able to hire people and enter into contracts in its own right. As the practice of incorporating grew, this principle was applied, and the corporation became something separate from the shareholders that made it up. This has led to limited liability, the fact that the corporation does not die, and all of the other factors discussed in the text that result directly from the corporation being treated as a separate legal personality from the shareholders. The corporation doesn't really exist. It is a convenient legal fiction and this is the legal myth. Still, it is a very valuable myth and plays an important role in our modern economy.