The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy [Paperback]

The Silent Takeover might be thought of as something of a contradiction in terms. In the world of modern mergers and acquisitions, hardly a single transaction goes by without noisy comment from every conceivable angle. But the Takeover here is of an altogether different order, referring to the takeover of the planet itself rather than a business rival. Did you know that of the world's largest economies, 51 are now corporations and only 49 are nation-states? You do now.

Noreena Hertz gives an evocative and highly readable account of economic change over the past two decades. Such material in the wrong hands can be stultifingly boring, but this is fast and accessible, personal, almost intimate. The reader is left in little doubt of the author's view that not everyone benefits from the capitalist dream (the work is, after all, subtitled Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy). "The 20-year neo-liberal experiment that began in Westminster and Washington has not delivered for all of us".

One would expect to see the names of Rupert Murdoch, Ted Turner, Time Warner, General Electric and McDonalds in any review of the rise and rise of the corporate giant. But Big Brother, Buddha, 2001: A Space Odyssey, the Ku Klux Klan and Soylent Green? Noreena Hertz, once an investment banker in Russia, now based at the University of Cambridge, draws attention to the apocalyptic visions of several films of the 1970s. Included in the list is Rollerball, a depiction of life on earth after a series of corporate wars. Anyone who thought that far-fetched in the 1970s might care to reconsider, she ventures to suggest. "A world in which Rupert Murdoch has more power than Tony Blair, and corporations set the political agenda, is frightening and undemocratic", she writes. "We stand today at a critical juncture. If we do nothing... all is lost", she concludes. --Brian Bollen

"Dr Hertz is one of the world's leading young thinkers, whose agenda-setting book on corporate power is already sparking intense debate on both sides of the Atlantic." -- "Observer" --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

‘Destined to leave a more lasting mark on our times’ --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

‘The passionate and committed style will ensure the appeal ofthe book to a wide range of readers’ --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

‘Dr. Hertz has taken the debate into new territory, which is whyher book stands out from the crowd’ --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Noreena Hertz's book has already established itself as an essential text as the world faces the challenge of the power of big business, and has made its author a public figure, rarely out of the papers or off the TV, debating with Bill Clinton and Mary Robinson, appearing on Newsnight and Question Time. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

The way we are governed is changing. Government has less and less power to influence our lives, whilst the private sector has more power than ever to control our lives. This title predicts a time when we can make more of an impact through our pockets than through the ballot box.

Review quote from Will Hutton
Review quote from Will Hutton
'We are living in an emerging global business civilisation, the outlines of which are only dimly understood and which menaces Western democracy and our conception of the common weal. Noreena Hertz's The Silent Takeover is the most compelling description yet of the new world and what it means, and a call to arms to every citizen to reassert an idea of the public realm.'

Noreena Hertz teaches international business at Cambridge. She is in demand as a consultant to both multinationals and governments, and is, in particular, an expert on the Russian economy. (20020218) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.