The Silent Takeover: Global Capitalism and the Death of Democracy

Of the world's 100 largest economies, 51 are now corporations, only 49 are nation-states. The sales of General Motors and Ford are greater than the gross domestic product of the whole of sub-Saharan Africa, and Wal-Mart now has a turnover higher than the revenues of most of the states of Eastern Europe. Yet few of us understand fully the growing dominance of big business.

Widely acclaimed economist Noreena Hertz brilliantly reveals how corporations across the world manipulate and pressure governments by means both legal and illegal; how protest is becoming a more effective political weapon than the ballot-box; and how corporations are taking over from the state responsibility for everything from providing technology for schools to healthcare for the community.

The Silent Takeover asks us to recognize the growing contradictions of a world divided between haves and have-nots, of gated communities next to ghettos, of extreme poverty and unbelievable wealth. In the face of these unacceptable extremes, Noreena Hertz outlines a new agenda to revitalize politics and renew democracy.

Named one of the best books of the year by "The Sunday Times of London," Hertz explains how corporations in the age of globalization are changing lives, society, and the future--and are threatening the very basis of democracy.

Author, academic, and broadcaster, Dr. Noreena Hertz is the Associate Director of the Centre for International Business at the University of Cambridge. She began her career as a Russia expert, and she worked for the World Bank in 1992 advising the Russian government on its economic reforms. In the mid-nineties she worked on the Middle East Peace Process with the Palestinian Authorityand the governments of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt.

With the critically acclaimed publication of The Silent Takeover in Europe, Noreena Hertz has become recognized as one of the world's leading young experts on economic globalization. Her op-ed pieces have been published in the Washington Post, theNew Statesman, the Observer, and the Guardian, and she is a regular commentator on both television and radio.

The Silent Takeover has been translated into French, German, Chinese, Czech, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Korean, Portuguese, and Japanese. The author received her M.B.A. from Wharton and a B.A. in philosophy and economics from University College London. Her Ph.D. is from the University of Cambridge. She lives in London.