The Essence of Capitalism: The Origins of Our Future

By Humphrey McQueen and Humphrey Mcgueen

Book Overview

Alternative exploration of business and management techniques and the way in which multinational corporations work. Recounts the history of globalisation and its far-reaching implications.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1551642204
• ISBN13: 9781551642208
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Black Rose Books
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.2" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Excellent overview of the state of the world

Any book that tries to cover everything about the history of Capitalism is doomed to fail because of the extent of its history. This book however avoids that by containing itself to using Coca-Cola as its base to start from. This is not a book about the benefits and wonders of Capitalism. It is a bare bones, warts and all tale of how Coke was lucky in its marketing and business practices to enable The Company to expand beyond its original market (that which a horse drawn cart could cover in a day) to today's massive corporate juggernaut. Through the use of the franchise, extreme quality control and powerful marketing it show how the company went from being a feel good tonic in competition with over a thousand other similar drinks to being the major market force for soda pop. The book covers topics such as the creation of the idea of a corporation to having the status of person, how the money market works in the flow of capital, the effect of marketing and advertising on consumer tastes and how free trade really becomes oligopoly. A frightening set of examples are presented, enough to make the strongest advocate of free market forces to rethink their position. An excellent book which goes hand in hand with Naomi Klein's No Logo and Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation.