In November 1999, Time Warner swore off “soft money” contributions to political campaigns. At the time, it might have seemed like a mistake. The company was about to join with America Online in a deal that would require approval from federal regulators. Yet Gerald M. Levin, Time Warner’s chairman, argued that soft money not only distorted American politics, it sullied the company as well.

We have come, it seems, full circle. Soft money is no longer the vehicle of choice for companies wanting to influence American voters. But ever since the Supreme Court ruled in the Citizens United case that corporations can contribute unlimited amounts to “independent” election efforts, business has faced no real constraints on ways to funnel cash, often anonymously, into the political process.

And yet, many in corporate America seem to be undergoing a similar conversion.

In March, the state comptroller for New York, Thomas P. DiNapoli, announced that the New York State Common Retirement Fund, which owned some $20 million worth of the shares of United States Steel, had persuaded the company to publicly disclose its corporate political contributions.

It was not the first. Twenty-eight public companies — including major corporations like Comcast and Delta Air Lines — have adopted or agreed to adopt political spending disclosure procedures since New York’s fund started pressing the case five years ago, after the Citizens United ruling.