Transcending the nation state

January 13, 2004 10:14 AM

An Institute for Policy Studies report from 2000:

Of the world's 100 largest economic entities, 51 are now corporations and 49 are countries;

The world's top 200 corporations account for over a quarter of economic activity on the globe while employing less than one percent of its workforce.

Dr. Nancy Snow comments in Propaganda, Inc:

What this means is that we are growing up in a society today where big government is being downsized while the power of global corporations is concentrating and coalescing across national boundaries (thus their name "transnational corporations"). Despite this trend, our media (particularly conservative talk radio) continue to emphasize stories that point to the U.S. government as the most dominant and controlling institution in society. Even President Clinton acknowledged in his 1996 State of the Union address to great bipartisan applause that "the era of big government is over." ... Democracies thrive only when power is deconcentrated from the hands of a few to many. Thomas Jefferson warned that "banking institutions and moneyed incorporations" if given free reign to dominate the people could destroy democracy.

Transcending the nation state (01.13.2004)

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stonedown:

In the sci-fi book "Red Mars", by Kim Stanley Robinson, a few large conglomerates had grown into virtual nation-states, with their own security forces and massive economic power. These companies were referred to as "metanationals".

Tue Jan 13 2004 12:07 PM

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