- Corporatocracy
-
Corporatocracy, in social theories that focus on conflicts and opposing interests within society, denotes a system of government that serves the interest of, and may be run by, corporations and involves ties between government and business. Where corporations, conglomerates, and/or government entities with private components, control the direction and governance of a country, including carrying out economic planning (notwithstanding the "free market" label).[1]
Contents
Concept
See also: CorporatismThe concept of corporatocracy is that corporations, to a significant extent, have massive power over governments, including those governments nominally elected by the people. They exercise their power via corporate monopolies and mergers, and through their subsequent capacity to leverage broad economic interests, which allows them the luxury of being declared "too big to fail"; this is accomplished by legal mechanisms (i.e., lobbyists, campaign contributions to office holders and candidates, threats to leave the state or country for another with less oversight and/or more personally beneficial subsidies, etc.), which renders them immune to vague accusations and prosecution. It may also refer to an unrealized form of government or theoretical corporate governance in national or international affairs.
Usage
- U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower argued against the strengthening corporatocracy in the form of a military-industrial complex that sets national and international financial, economic, political and military policies due to a permanent war economy.
"The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present – and is gravely to be regarded." - Dwight D. Eisenhower Farewell Address to the Nation January 17, 1961[2]
- In his 2004 book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins writes; "corporations, banks, and governments (collectively the corporatocracy)".
- The concept of a government run by corporations or instances where governments are actually weaker (politically, financially, and militarily) than corporations is a theme often used in both political fiction and science fiction. In these instances the dominant corporate entity is usually dubbed a "megacorporation".
See also
References
- ^ Linda A. Mooney; David Knox, and Caroline Schacht (2009). Understanding Social Problems. Cengage Lerning. p. 256. http://books.google.com/books?id=1Zb3-2UxHyUC&pg=PT282&dq=Corporatocracy#v=onepage&q=Corporatocracy&f=false.
- ^ "Encyclopedia.com". Eisenhower's Farewell Address (17 January 1961). Dictionary of American History. 2003. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401804834.html. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
External links
- John Perkins lecture on Corporatocracy
- John Perkins (author) [1], Confessions of an Economic Hitman [2] page xiii, Berrett-Koehler Publishers (November 9, 2004)
- Dave Johnson, Huffington Post, Monopoly Corporatocracy Replaces Democracy
- Keith Harrington, Huffington Post, The BP Spill: Corporatocracy Ground Zero?
- John Perkins (author), Huffington Post, Battle the Corporatocracy by Demanding Sustainability
- Andy Webster, New York Times, Thoughts on a ‘Corporatocracy’
- Prop 14 is 'Corporatocracy' says Green Party candidate, Linda Piera-Avila for Santa Monica City Council on issues
- Teaching for Democracy in an Age of Corporatocracy by Christine E. Sleeter, Teachers College, Columbia University.
- Crimes of Globalization: The Impact of U.S. Corporatocracy in Third World Countries by John Flores-Hidones
- corporatOCRACY.biz: "Corporatism meets Democracy; Wall Street meets Main Street."
Categories:- Forms of government
- Corporatism
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
