Claire Provost

This is another serious contender for my, "Book of the Year".

I have heard of Investor State Dispute Settlement and had a vague idea that it was bad. This book explains it, with examples. It also brings amazing statistics about the increase in private armed forces, operating not just in third world countries, but more and more at home in the UK, Europe and particularly, the USA.

The style is perfect. One is left in no doubt as to the harm that is being caused but equally, it is not some left wing attack on Capitalism. It is a fact based resume of the position.

I believe that a basic overview of economics should be a part of every child's education. I think that my education was a good one but, economics was something that was left for university - and then, only for those keen to follow a career in finance. I grew up believing it was too complex for a non-mathematical person, such as myself, to comprehend. I do not now believe this to be true: I also do not believe that this belief was of my making. It is in the interests of the 'elite' to keep the proles ignorant.… (altro)

Silent Coup: How Corporations Overthrew Democracy by Claire Provost and Matt Kennard looks at the history and specific case studies that illustrate how corporations have rigged the international system to serve their investors at the expense of those living in the various countries.

Looking at how the end of explicit colonialism led to plans to make sure that any peoples gaining independence and potentially democracy would not be able to interfere with the former colonial powers, now embodied in large multinational corporations, continuing to profit off of their backs. One of the main instruments is a little known but powerful court at the World Bank, through which these corporations can force countries to either capitulate to their demands or risk destabilization. The suits brought are often more than these countries could pay, which leads to the corporations overriding any laws and policies these countries may have, thus "overthrowing" or, often more accurate, circumventing the democratic sovereignty of that nation.

I am leaving out many details and almost all of the nuance, but Provost and Kennard bring both the big picture and the minute details into focus for the reader.

I saw one poor guy who thinks percentage of a book based on his little Kindle is a measure of how well researched a book is. He neither understands qualitative versus quantitative documentation nor what generally goes into investigative journalism. Forgive him, he didn't start reading much until late in life and hasn't learned to be a discerning reader. He also recently learned a little about the broad topic of corporatism and throws the term around as if it is all-encompassing. Ignore it. Corporatism, while not mentioned here, is a part but not the whole of the story. This book is about the global situation and the international structures that have been put in place to override democratically established governments and policies.

Also, this is a big picture book about the dark side of globalization. Some people who might think their particular country has to be the center and bulk of any book will totally miss the point of the book and lament that they didn't read enough about their domestic situation in a book about globalization. Go figure!

For those who want to better understand how and why corporations seem to always get what they want even in countries that have laws that would specifically prohibit what they want to do will learn a lot here. It is also important to understand that the planning for the system now in place began over half a century ago, so history buffs will also find a lot here to appreciate.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (altro)