“WHEN CORPORATIONS RULE the World” is an eloquent and well-researched book which expresses the author’s deeply held belief that the emerging global system of business has become a serious threat to longterm human interests. He documents the rise of corporate power and shows how that power is now engaged in shaping national and international laws and practices to the benefit of corporations and to the detriment
of people and communities worldwide.

Korten illustrates the harmful results of economic globalization with various case studies from around the world, in particular highlighting the damaging effects which occur as costs are increasingly externalized. Furthermore, he sets out the underlying causes of today’s social, economic, environmental and political crises. Current excesses of the “free-market” global economy are depicted in chapters with titles such as “Predatory Finance” and “Corporate Cannibalism” but Korten, as well as pointing out examples of inhumanity and injustice, also focuses on the distortions and deceptions that make
such injustice possible.

The final section of the book is entitled “Reclaiming our Power” and here, the author outlines a strategy for creating localized economies that empower people and communities within a system of global cooperation.