A must-read classic that foresaw the corporate governance that is overlaid on our elected government and pulls the strings, here and around the world. Global corporations have assets and resources that exceed most nations in the world, and they use them to control public policy in the United States and Internationally.

"Corporate Personhood" is the tip of the iceberg. A great book to read in conjunction with Thom Hartmann's "Unequal Protection," which we have been promoting on BuzzFlash for some time. These two books together rationally and clearly explain the invisible grid that calls the shots. As Senate Assistant Democratic Majority Leader, Dick Durbin, said: the banks own Capitol Hill. But they share their ownership with a variety of global corporations, such as Wal-Mart, Monsanto, EXXON/Mobil, etc.

From Publishers Weekly:

This well-documented, apocalyptic tome describes the global spread of corporate power as a malignant cancer exercising a market tyranny that is gradually destroying lives, democratic institutions and the ecosystem for the benefit of greedy companies and investors. Korten points out his conservative roots and business credentials and then proceeds to finger such classic conspiracy-theory scapegoats as the Trilateral Commission and Council on Foreign Relations as the planning agents of the new world economic order he decries. Korten, founder of the People-Centered Development Forum, prescribes a reordering of developmental priorities to restore local control and benefits. Suggested reforms include shifting tax policies to punish greed and reward social responsibility, placing a 100% reserve requirement on demand deposits at banks and closing the World Bank, which he claims encourages indebtedness in nations that can't afford it

Library Journal:

Korten brings impressive credentials to the task of blaming large international corporations for many of the social and environmental problems confronting people all over the world. Using numerous well-researched examples, Korten argues that not only do today's corporations exploit labor and the environment, but governments (particularly the U.S. government), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, aid and abet this exploitation through policies that favor capitalists over workers and small business. Although Korten speaks from an obviously liberal position, in an era when conservative political voices declare an unswerving faith in the benefits of unfettered free markets, a voice from the opposition offers a welcome balance.

This is a classic that if you haven't read, you must to understand who has the power.