Life Inc : how corporatism conquered the world and how we can take it back
Title
Life Inc : how corporatism conquered the world and how we can take it back
Subject
captatilism, crapatilism, economy, self-determination
Description
This fascinating journey, from the late Middle Ages to today, reveals the roots of our debacle. From the founding of the first chartered monopoly to the branding of the self; from the invention of central currency to the privatization of banking; from the birth of the modern, self-interested individual to his exploitation through the false ideal of the single-family home; from the Victorian Great Exhibition to the solipsism of MySpace–the corporation has infiltrated all aspects of our daily lives. Life Inc. exposes why we see our homes as investments rather than places to live, our 401(k) plans as the ultimate measure of success, and the Internet as just another place to do business.
Most of all, Life Inc. shows how the current financial crisis is actually an opportunity to reverse this six-hundred-year-old trend and to begin to create, invest, and transact directly rather than outsource all this activity to institutions that exist solely for their own sakes.
Corporatism didn’t evolve naturally. The landscape on which we are living–the operating system on which we are now running our social software–was invented by people, sold to us as a better way of life, supported by myths, and ultimately allowed to develop into a self-sustaining reality. It is a map that has replaced the territory.
Most of all, Life Inc. shows how the current financial crisis is actually an opportunity to reverse this six-hundred-year-old trend and to begin to create, invest, and transact directly rather than outsource all this activity to institutions that exist solely for their own sakes.
Corporatism didn’t evolve naturally. The landscape on which we are living–the operating system on which we are now running our social software–was invented by people, sold to us as a better way of life, supported by myths, and ultimately allowed to develop into a self-sustaining reality. It is a map that has replaced the territory.
Creator
Douglas Rushkoff
Source
Originally published in 2009
Publisher
Random House Publishing
Date
2011
Contributor
Relation
Format
347 oages
Language
English
Type
A book about ow corporations (sort of) run our lives, and how we can take our lives back from them
Identifier
WCBK0106
Coverage
USA
Collection
Citation
Douglas Rushkoff, “Life Inc : how corporatism conquered the world and how we can take it back,” WPB, accessed May 19, 2024, https://tpb.worm.org/items/show/12977.