Product Description

Surpassing even the state and the church, the corporation has become the core institution of the modern world, exercising might and muscle without regard to the often destructive effects on individuals, the environment, society, and the world. How did this happen? In this compelling expose, noted entrepreneur and activist Ted Nace scrutinizes the legal framework of the corporation and untangles questions about how and why the corporation evolved as it did. Nace traces the evolution of this institution through the behind-the-scenes figures who shaped it, including Thomas Scott, an obscure genius who invented the holding company; Stephen Field, the Supreme Court judge who developed corporate personhood rights; and many others. Including the latest research by historians, sociologists, political scientists, and legal scholars, this book is a dramatic narrative, an invaluable reference, and a blueprint for regaining control before it's too late.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #590005 in Books
• Published on: 2003-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 300 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Nace nurtured Peachpit Press from a home-based operation, writing and publishing computer guides, to a business worthy of acquisition by the Pearson conglomerate. The experience inspired him to study the nature of corporate power. He offers a breezy summary of the legal history surrounding the formation of corporations and the parameters of their power, putting an anti-corporate spin on the American Revolution and discussing how the early republic limited corporate power by enabling state governments to issue restrictive charters. But the tight controls didn't remain in place: after the Supreme Court's decision in an 1886 case involving the Santa Clara Railroad, corporations were assumed to be the legal equivalent of people entitled to equal protection under the law and, in subsequent cases, were guaranteed a growing range of constitutional rights. One of Nace's central arguments is that Santa Clara doesn't mean what everybody thinks it means: the original decision doesn't take any stand on whether corporations have constitutional rights; the question comes up in a subsequent version of the decision, but the Chief Justice acts as if it had been resolved in earlier decisions. Although Nace blames the Court's reporter for the shift in emphasis, he illustrates how another justice, Stephen Field, was already buttressing politicians' and financial titans' efforts to eliminate all restraints on corporate power, making their legal supremacy inevitable. Later chapters examine how corporations continue to wield their influence to prevent the government from regulating them too closely, but while the book offers plenty of details about the problem's existence and deftly introduces it, it offers little more than generalities about where to go from there.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

New York Times, September 14, 2003
"... an engaging history ... provocative and entertaining ... a surprising and welcome achievement ... lively insights and refreshing research."

Corporate Reform Weekly, September 8, 2003
"... a joy to read ... clear, straight-forward, and very accessible ... one of those books that can awaken people's consciousness..."

Customer Reviews

Good Read & Love the Cover Jacket
This is an excellent book that is well-written and researched. It reads like a good piece of fiction, pulling the reader in. "Gangs of America" does not preach or moralize, rather it informs and enlightens the reader about the many powers of Corporate America.

must read
excellent. well written, though provoking, even the book itself, paper and cover, are excellent. the research is extensive and incredible. be prepared to throw your elementary/high school history lessons out the window, or better yet extrapolate on them like you wouldn't believe. simply captivating.

A Surprisingly Good Read
I was very surprised by this book. It's a very easy read, but also very informative. The only complaint I have is that the book is a little too biographical in the middle (during the Guilded Age in particular). The book examines the attitudes and opinions of a few movers and shakers about corporations and how they changed the political scene. One has to be careful about doing something like this. Ancedotal evidence only can easily make ideas and opinions in the margins of politics seem like the norm. However, I think the author can get away with it here, because these few men changed so much themselves. With that being said, keep in mind these are only a handful of men and their accomplishments.

Give it a read, it'll only take a day or two, and doesn't sound like, "the man is out to get us."

Also, I recommend that you watch the documentary The Corporation.