Subject: Proposed Rule S7-25-97
     
     
                                                November 11, 1997
     
Arthur Levitt, Chairman
Securities and Exchange Commission
450 5th St., NW
Washington, DC 20549, U.S.A.
     
Dear Chairman Levitt:

        I was frankly appalled, but hardly surprised to hear that the Securities
and Exchange Commission is contemplating a change in rules (proposed rule 
S7-25-97) that would virtually eliminate the ability of share holder to 
present independent  resolutions to require corporate accountability to 
shareholder interests. The only shred of legitimacy our corrupt system of 
corporate rule has is its presumed accountability to shareholders. Now it 
seems the corporate bosses find even that bit of accountability an 
intolerable inconvenience. 

        You may have noticed that the credibility of our major institutions,
including government and corporations is at an all time low. A rule change 
such as proposed will be one more blow to that credibility and further 
weaken what little remains of democracy in the face of the big money buy out 
of our government. 

         As the author of When Corporations Rule the World I spend a great deal of
my time speaking with citizen groups across the country about the abuses of 
corporate power and the corruption of our government. I can assure you there 
is a potentially massive political backlash building against the abuses that 
such a rule change will only further. The people of this country are going to 
take back their economy and their government and their government one way or 
another. They are fed up. If you continue taking away the avenues for 
effective peaceful democratic expression I fear for the consequences. Are the 
militias to become the only means left for the expression of citizen 
grievances and the expression of democratic rights?

        I implore you, stop this rule change. You and your Commission should be
looking for every opportunity to strengthen the accountability of corporate 
management to the public interest-not weaken it. Remember. Your sworn 
responsibility is to protect the public interest, not the interests of the 
Business Roundtable.
     
                                Sincerely,
     
     
                                David C. Korten
                                Author, When Corporations Rule the World
     
CC: Senator Alfonse D'Amato, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510
      Senator Paul Sarbanes, U.S. Senate, Washington DC 20510 
      Representative Carolyn Maloney, House of Representatives, Washington,
                  DC 20515

David C. Korten
PCDForum - Fax (1-212) 242-1901
Globalize Consciousness - Localize Economies 
Visit our web site: http://iisd1.iisd.ca/pcdf