Silent Takeover or Testimony

Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy

Author: Noreena Hertz

Of the world's 100 largest economies, 51 are now corporations, only 49 are nation-states. The sales of General Motors and Ford are greater than the gross domestic product of the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, and Wal-Mart now has a turnover higher than the revenues of most of the states of Eastern Europe. Yet few of us understand fully the growing dominance of big business.

Widely acclaimed economist Noreena Hertz brilliantly reveals how corporations across the world manipulate and pressure governments by means both legal and illegal; how protest is becoming a more effective political weapon than the ballot-box; and how corporations are taking over from the state responsibility for everything from providing technology for schools to healthcare for the community.

The Silent Takeover asks us to recognize the growing contradictions of a world divided between haves and have-nots, of gated communities next to ghettos, of extreme poverty and unbelievable wealth. In the face of these unacceptable extremes, Noreena Hertz outlines a new agenda to revitalize politics and renew democracy.

Publishers Weekly

Cambridge University economist Hertz asserts that Reagan's and Thatcher's brand of free market capitalism has had dire social and political repercussions, although it has triumphed as the dominant world ideology and brought prosperity to many. She sensibly argues that with government in retreat from its traditional rule-setter role, multinational corporations have grown so powerful 51 of the hundred biggest economies in the world are corporations that they determine political policies rather than operate subject to them. Market success may rule, but Hertz laments that the state, in appearing to serve business, may be nullifying democracy's social contract to represent and protect the rights of all citizens equally. WTO protests and activism reinforce her sense of growing political discontent not only about income distribution effects (97% of the increase in income over the past 20 years in the U.S. has gone to the top 20% of the families) but also about human rights issues. Campaign finance realities, declining voter participation, increasing alienation and terrorism amid glowing corporate results represent an urgent cry for reform to Hertz. Since corporations are not designed and cannot be expected to serve a general population's social and political needs, she argues that democracies need to move toward a realignment between the state's political power and the corporations' economic power so that all people have a positive stake in world economic progress. Hertz maps out a proposed agenda, and her eloquent call to action deserves the attention of every concerned citizen of our troubled world. (June 17) Forecast: Concern about the unchecked influence of multinational corporations in the political sphere both nationally and internationally is a hot topic, and Hertz's credentials as a respected academic with a Wharton MBA and a pro-free market mindset reinforce her arguments. This book and Joseph Stiglitz's Globalization and Its Discontents (Forecasts, May 13) will catch the eye of those seeking to understand how business will and should be done responsibly in the future. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

What People Are Saying

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
The Silent Takeover is a powerful wake-up call to a sleeping citizenry. Noreena Hertz's wide-ranging, provocative, and important book will shape the debate about the role of business versus government for years to come.
— Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, bestselling author of World Class and Evolve!: Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow

George Soros
Noreena Hertz is one of the most forceful, passionate, and incisive writers to address the debate on globalization. Written with great clarity and intelligence, The Silent Takeover persuasively identifies the challenges facing business and government, and suggests a number of important changes to consider. This outstanding young woman is a voice to reckon with.

Interesting textbook: Fat Proof Your Family or Herbs and Nutrients for the Mind

Testimony: France, Europe, and the World in the Twenty-First Century

Author: Nicolas Sarkozy

In this important book from the newly elected president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy sets forth his personal vision of France's role in world affairs and his plans for modernizing the country and equipping it for the twenty-first century.

With unusual candor, President Sarkozy describes the difficulties France has faced in recent years—high unemployment, social tensions, inadequate education, a government that has not been responsive or responsible when confronting economic and social problems. In international relations, he calls for a new approach to the way France positions itself in the world. He is a great admirer of the United States, an unorthodox position for a French leader, and his vision for Europe is ambitious and far-reaching. His iconoclastic views on Israel and the Arab world, Africa, globalization, immigration, and the environment promise a sharp break with the past.

The ideas of France's new president are probably more daring, coherent, and compelling than those of any French leader in decades. Furthermore, he remains optimistic about France, insisting that the country is eager to embrace profound change. Bold, pragmatic, a risk-taker, President Sarkozy sets forth an exciting new direction for France as it enters the world of the twenty-first century.