The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea (Modern Library Chronicles)

An excellent history of the joint stock company and its impact on society in the Western world and globally. The authors touch upon its ancient roots but focus on the past four hundred years when corporations started in their more modern form. It is an engrossing tale and moves through the evolution of a concept that has reshaped the world in so many ways. The interrelationship between...more

An excellent history of the joint stock company and its impact on society in the Western world and globally. The authors touch upon its ancient roots but focus on the past four hundred years when corporations started in their more modern form. It is an engrossing tale and moves through the evolution of a concept that has reshaped the world in so many ways. The interrelationship between government and the corporation is explored throughout history. John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge acknowledge the excesses and misdeeds of corporations throughout history and especially in colonized countries but also praise the company as a structure and concept and its role in enhancing Western civilization and its economic success. They assert that the company has become more ethical and socially responsible than in the past as opposed to the villains they are perceived to be. They state that its influence is even less than its heyday when companies such as the East India Company could enforce their will upon the indigenous populations they encountered. Their admiration for the corporation is clearly evident throughout their fascinating account but it is also clear that it is the point of view of the beneficiaries of a Western vehicle that tore up non-Western indigenous societies and sucked up the resources to feed that economic engine. They argue that the wellbeing of everyone has been greatly enhanced and it has lifted society up from general poverty. For much of the Western world, this is largely true but it would be interesting to hear the counterargument of those who have been consumed by its voracious appetite both historically and in the present time.   hide