In his letter (June 1) regarding our op-ed The Stakeholder War on the Enlightenment (May 24), Cambridge Prof. Brian Cheffins provides the legal history behind our claim that Parliament repealed royal charters, permitted businesses to incorporate simply by meeting preset capital requirements, and established the rules of law governing private competition.

We condensed 150 years of history into one sentence to explain how Parliament liberated private corporations from government control. Mr. Cheffins correctly explains the legal transformation but misses our point on the economic transformation. The 1720 Bubble Act effectively banned new joint stock companies but didnt eliminate existing corporations. Without the predations of stakeholder capitalism, the latter grew in value by 48% over the ensuing century. When resources were lacking, big projects went to large partnerships, according to Harvard Prof. David Landes. In the nineteenth century, when things got costlier and risks greater, Parliament turned to the most effective device for mobilizing capital . . . , the chartered joint stock company.

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The Corporation and the Story of Prosperity - The Wall Street Journal