"This is a 'must-read' book--a searing indictment of an unjust international economic order, not by a wild-eyed idealistic left-winger, but by a sober scion of the establishment with impeccable credentials. It left me devastated but also very hopeful. Something can be done to create a more just economic order."
--Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate
"Anyone serious about the systemic crisis we now face ought to read this updated version today. Korten captures the devastating and increasingly threatening dynamics of the corporate-dominated global system and has offered a vibrant, well-written, and important strategy for moving us beyond its destructive economic, social, and ecological logic."
--Gar Alperovitz, author of What Then Must We Do? "If every corporate leader who believes implicitly that consumerism is the path to happiness (and that rampant development is the road to global prosperity) were to read
When Corporations Rule the World with an open mind, that world just might have a chance of becoming a better place for us all."
--Toronto Globe and Mail
For multinational corporations and financial institutions, globalization of economic activity has provided massive increases in their profits and power. Rootless and largely unregulated, they have superseded the old institutional structures based on the dominance of nation states, and are free to pursue their narrow financial aims regardless of the consequences for society. This text analyzes the harmful effects of economic globalization; sets out the underlying causes of today's social, economic, environmental and political crises; and outlines a strategy for creating localized economies that empower people and communities within a system of global co-operation.