Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life

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Scribe Publications, 2008 - Business & Economics - 272 pages
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. As one of America's most influential voices, Reich sets out a clear course to a vibrant capitalism and a concurrent, equally vibrant democracy.

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About the author (2008)

Robert B. Reich was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on June 24, 1946. He received a B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1968, a M.A. from Oxford University in 1970, and a J.D. from Yale University. Reich was an assistant to the Solicitor General in the U.S. Department of Justice from 1974 to 1976. He directed the policy planning staff of the Federal Trade Commission from 1976 to 1981 and taught on the faculty of Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government from 1981 to 1992. He served as the 22nd Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997 under President Bill Clinton. He became the University Professor and the Maurice B. Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy at Brandies University in 1997. He is currently the Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. Reich has written numerous books including Locked in the Cabinet; Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America; Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life; Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future; Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few; and The Common Good. In 2003, he was awarded the Vaclev Havel Foundation Prize for his pioneering work in economic and social thought.