When corporations rule the world / David C. Korten.

I. Cowboys in a spaceship : From hope to crisis --
End of the open frontier --
The growth illusion --
II. Contest for sovereignty : Rise of corporate power in America --
Assault of the corporate libertarians --
Decline of democratic pluralism --
Illusions of the cloud minders --
III. Corporate colonialism : Dreaming of global empires --
Building elite consensus --
Buying out democracy --
Marketing the world --
Adjusting the poor --
Guaranteeing corporate rights --
IV. A rogue financial system : The money game --
Predatory finance --
Corporate cannibalism --
Managed competition --
V. No place for people : Race to the bottom --
The end of inefficiency --
People with no place --
VI. Reclaiming our power : The ecological revolution --
Good living --
An awakened civil society --
Agenda for change.

Growing Numbers of thoughtful business executives are joining social activists in a shared concern that the emerging global system of business has become a serious threat to long-term human interests. This controversial book goes beyond the prevailing conventional wisdom to address the often neglected issues of modern corporate power. In a well-reasoned, extensively researched analysis, David Korten exposes 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 economics that empower people and communities within a system of global cooperation. In When Corporations Rule the World, Korten shows how the convergence of ideological, political, and technological forces is leading to an ever-greater concentration of economic and political power in a handful of corporations and financial institutions, separating their interests from the human interest, and leaving the market system blind to all but its own short term financial gains. Korten documents the devastating human and environmental consequences of the successful efforts of corporations to reconstruct values and institutions everywhere to serve narrow financial ends. He explains why human survival depends on a community-based, life-centered alternative beyond the outmoded strictures of communism and capitalism, and suggests specific steps to achieve it. Literate and authoritative, When Corporations Rule the World is insightful reading for business people, activists, and ordinary citizens who want to restore the balance of power in the world.