A
corporate republic is a theoretical
form of government occasionally hypothesized in works of
science fiction, though some historical nations such as medieval
Florence might be said to have been governed as corporate republics. While retaining some resemblance of
republican government, a corporate republic would be
run primarily like a business, involving a
board of directors and
executives.
Utilities, including
hospitals,
schools, the
military, and the
police force, would be
privatized. The
social welfare function carried out by the state is instead carried out by corporations in the form of benefits to employees. Although corporate republics do not exist officially in the modern world, they are often used in works of fiction or
political commentary as a warning of the perceived dangers of unbridled
capitalism. In such works, they usually arise when a single, vastly powerful corporation deposes a weak government, over time or in a
coup d'état.