Fully Integrated Corporation
Of all things in the Imperium, the Fully Integrated Corporation remained the least changed. Historians claim the concept of a Corporation dates back to the pre-Space era of humanity, which would make it one of the oldest institutions.
So much of these corporations is documented in economic treatises that this scholar finds it difficult to add. Traditionally, corporations are businesses where many citizens collectively own a business, and each citizen can own different portions of a given corporation.
Oligopolies are different than the Oligarchs in that they represent less than five companies that control most of a given industry, such as we find in the nano-computer field. Monopolies exist where only one corporation controls most of an industry. These tend to be vertically or horizontally integrated. Vertical integration is where a monopoly corporation controls the entire line of production–from raw materials through final distribution. Horizontal integration is where a corporation controls every aspect of one phase in the line of production. One cannot produce unless this corporation agrees to process that phase.
Fully-integrated Corporations are different only that they combine all aspects of a citizen’s life for a given world (or part of a world)–everything. They are essentially a corporation-run government. By law F Ics are supposed to allocate at least one share to each citizen per year of age. However, there are ways to change this. Felony prosecution can strip one of all shares. It is illegal to voluntarily surrender ones shares to another. Merit can add shares, as can military service. One curious law is that shares can be inherited in a curious concept called fee tail, which allows inheritance only along the bloodline. Once that bloodline is extinguished, the shares return to the Corporation.