Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life (Borzoi Books) | 
|  | | | Title: | Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life (Borzoi Books) | | Author: | Robert B. Reich | | Publisher: | Knopf | | Type: | Book / Hardcover | | Publication Date: | 04 September, 2007 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0307265617 / 9780307265616 | | List Price: | $25.00 | | You Save: | $8.50 | | Amazon Price: | $16.50 | |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
From the greatly admired author of The Work of Nations and The Future of Success, one of America's greatest economic and political thinkers as well as a distinguished public servant in three national administrations, a breakthrough book on the clash between capitalism and democracy.
Mid-twentieth-century capitalism has turned into global capitalism, and global capitalism—turbocharged, Web-based, and able to find and make almost anything just about anywhere—has turned into supercapitalism. But as Robert B. Reich makes clear in this eye-opening book, while supercapitalism is working wonderfully well to enlarge the economic pie, democracy—charged with caring for all citizens—is becoming less and less effective under its influence.
Reich explains how widening inequalities of income and wealth, heightened job insecurity, and the spreading effects of global warming are the logical outcomes of supercapitalism. He shows us why companies, fighting harder than ever to maintain their competitive positions, have become even more deeply involved in politics; and how average citizens, seeking great deals and invested in the stock market to an unprecedented degree, are increasingly loath to stand by their values if it means biting the hands that feed them. He makes clear how the tools traditionally used to temper America's societal problems—fair taxation, well-funded public education, trade unions—have withered as supercapitalism has burgeoned.
Reich sets out a clear course to a vibrant capitalism and a concurrent, equally vibrant democracy. He argues forcefully that the spheres of business and politics must be kept distinct. He calls for an end to the legal fiction that corporations are citizens, as well as the illusion that corporations can be "socially responsible" until laws define social needs. Reich explains why we must stop treating companies as if they were people—and must therefore abolish the corporate income tax and levy it on shareholders instead, hold individuals rather than corporations guilty of criminal conduct, and not expect companies to be "patriotic." For, as Reich says, only people can be citizens, and only citizens should be allowed to participate in democratic decision making.
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Customer Reviews:
• Refreshing, Clear, And Challenging 28 November, 2008
Robert Reich's book is refreshing from a variety of perspectives. It is refreshing because he doesn't settle for cheap criticism or partisan sniping. It is refreshingly honest; he establishes a clear line of responsbility between citizen behavior and economic or social consequences, whether intended or unintended. His grasp of history and personal observations in government service are clearly stated and will, hopefully, serve as the basis for authentic dialogue. More important, Robert Reich challenges us to recognize that we are unlikely to evolve as individuals or as a nation unless we reclaim our role as citizen in a republic dedicated to the proposition that we are capable of governing ourselves.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AGNFWWZL6MUG7
• Required Reading To Understand Our Current Economic Downfall 22 November, 2008
Robert Reich blends the ideas that not only are companies but also citizens of America are to blame for the current economic crisis. He details the rise and ultimate fall of deregulation, the increased availability of resources and the somewhat new idea of fierce competition between deeply rooted and fledgling companies. Mr. Reich shows that corporations looking to increase their stock prices are hurting the economy by the ways they go about doing so.
But the most telling aspect of the story is how we, as citizens of America, are allowing these corporations to continue their greedy ways and how we are almost of the same mindset.
Definitely pick this item up if you want to understand how we can get out of the current mess and the history of it all.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AK8KQ4DC7PF7H
• So-so, But You're Better Off With The Neomarxists If You Want To Learn About This Topic. 29 December, 2008
I'm a longtime fan of Reich's pieces on NPR's Marketplace and bought this book thinking it would be of a similar bent. I was mistaken. Reich does a mediocre job of leading the reader through the forces that created the current economic climate and his views of global capitalism are simplistic at best. If you want to read up on the effects of globalization, try the Neo-Marxist writings of Frederic Jameson, David Harvey, and of course, Karl Marx.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3GY25DMJ3IL9F
• Informative Book 19 November, 2008
Supercapitalism, written by Robert Reich, is an amazing book and should be read by every single American citizen.
The book is a historical look at American Capitalism and Democracy and how they've been intertwined and even how they've diverged in recent years. This divergence, Reich argues, is due to Supercapitalism.
What does this mean? It means that this country has moved past a mixture of democracy and capitalism into a new era of greed. Consumers love the cheap prices we find online and in discount stores but we get angry when jobs are sent overseas. Investors love the high returns that stocks have provided to us but we get upset when the companies we invest in cut costs be laying off there staff.
Has anyone stopped to realize that the reason these jobs are going overseas is because we (as consumers) demand cheaper prices and we (as investors) are demanding higher returns?
There is a lot of information in this book and much of it has opened my eyes to what Capitalism and Democracy in America used to mean....and what it means today.
This is a great book that everyone should read.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3P6UTPIWYWQNF
• Enjoyable, Accessible Read On A Sound Socioeconomic Thesis 02 January, 2009
thoughtful, well-written thesis on how we as americans fill various relationships in the economy, society and our democracy (ie. we are "investors," "consumers" and "citizens")...most often, in the modern global economy ("supercapitalism"), we as citizens, even with our democratic voices, lose out to the forces of investing & consuming. Reich isn't apologetic about this - he just states it in a factual manner that really does make simple sense.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2I169EKFN5A30
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