"A devastating indictment of the corruption at the heart of the British State by one of our most popular media figures.George Monbiot made his name exposing the corruption of foreign governments; now he turns his keen eye on Britain. In the most explosive book on British politics of the new decade, Monbiot uncovers what many have suspected but few have been able to prove: that corporations have become so powerful they now threaten the foundations of democratic government.Many of the stories George Monbiot recounts have never been told before, and they could scarcely be more embarrassing to a government that claims to act on behalf of all of us. Some are - or should be - resigning matters. Effectively, the British government has collaborated in its own redundancy, by ceding power to international bodies controlled by corporations. CAPTIVE STATE highlights the long term threat to our society and ultimately shows us ways in which we can hope to withstand the might of big business."Much like Bad Science, this is a book that made me so angry about the role that big corporations play in shaping society, and the way in which the Government and institutions have collaborated or been undermined to the extent that they set policies for the benefit of the rich multinationals instead of their own people.
Looking at a series of different (but often interlinked) cases, Monbiot demonstrates how under New Labour the corporations and businesses were given more and more access and more and more power, to the point where they essentially control vast swathes of government policy at both a local and national level.
Essential reading for anyone interested in how the privitisation of Government is likely to benefit only those who take over, whilst ignoring and actively hurting the rest of the country, this is a brutal takedown of the way in which corporations present themselves as efficient, beneficial or ethical.
Also Try:
Ben Goldacre, Bad Science
Naomi Klein, No Logo
Mark Thomas, Belching Out The Devil
No comments:
Post a Comment