Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and learning about our recent economic and political history. Especially enlightening was his point that Adam Smith is often incorrectly applied in support of neo-liberalism while he would actually support an extremely more localized economy.Korten also makes a good case for a balanced society -- with civic society, government, and markets (in that order!) each playing an important role. The two extremes of liberalism (where markets rule) and communism (where a centralised government rules) don't have this balance and most importantly don't put a democratised civic society at the forefront. Unfortunately, for one to believe and work towards this goal of a democratic pluralism, one really has to be a humanist...putting the welfare of all humans before other goals...something that we often find hard to do, because we think its unrealistic (utopian) or because we just don't have the life experiences to think this way. But whether its utopian or not...if it's worth attaining, it's worth fighting for. Korten does a great job describing what can be done.
Rating: 
Summary: well researched but not balanced
Review: In general, I thought the author did a good job researching his topic. That being said, he was nowhere near balanced. Furthermore, he never presented reasonable solutions (the final two chapters are full of loopy ideas) for the problems he outlined. Finally, he never addresses the observation that countries can still choose to *not* become part of the global economy if they so desire (globalization doesn't have to happen). Similarly, with regards to IMF and World Bank loans, he lobbies (presumably) for debt forgiveness, but never convincingly addresses why the debt should be forgiven when it was voluntarily assumed (BTW: the author makes the bizarre argument that the debt was *not* assumed voluntarily and therefore should be exempt from repayment). In general, the strangest thing about his book was that he ignored the obvious--several of his egregegious examples (ie the Philippine gold mine) were perpetrated by the government against their own people (again, the balance thing). If you're in the choir that believes corporations are evil and should be severely restrained, Mr. Korten is your preacher and this book is your Bible.
Rating:
Summary: An eye opener
Review: I must say that this book makes me look at the world in a different and more disturbing light. We have been brought off course by greed and cunning stupidity. Korten is honest and does not seem to be pushing an agenda for any purpose but to make the world a better place for all people. I recommend it to anybody who has hope for the future and wants to know where the past has brought us.
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Summary: People should wake up
Review: I got a good laugh from the reviewer who viewed environmental degradation, social disintegration, worsening inequality, and the domination of our governmental institutions by corporations to be "non-existant problems" that are getting "better, not worse." WAKE UP! Korten's book is absolutely correct, his analysis is impeccable. I don't care where he went to school or what he did before he wrote this book... people often resort to attacking the messenger personally when they don't like the message. Buy the book, read it, and then think about what you can do to help make things better!
Rating:
Summary: More of a threat....
Review: This book is more of a threat to the established order than thousands of armed men could ever be. You'll learn more from this book than you would after getting a degree in International Relations. If you happen to be in college and want to have some fun, start dropping the facts from this text on your economics and politics professors. There's nothing like seeing old, fat white men soil their union suits!
Rating: 
Summary: Silly solutions for non-existant problems
Review: At the beginning of this tiresome tirade, Mr. Korten lays out the problems for which he has supposedly been annoited to have all the solutions for: "... rising poverty and unemployment, inequality, violent crime, failing families, and environmental deterioration." He provides absolutely no references to support these claims, probably becaues the belief that the world is going down the tubes is so widespread, he rightly assumes that no one will question them. One might wonder what he has to say, except that none of these problems exists. Each of the issues he mentions is improving, not getting worse, in the US and around the world. If you don't believe me, consult the US government's own data: go to your local library and read the Statistical Abstracts. Another good source "The State of Humanity" and other books by the late Julian Simon, available here on Amazon. Sorry, David, I know you wanted to sell a lot of books by exploiting people's tendency to buy into chicken little theories, but the sky is not falling. So, the book is built on a faulty premise. But just for kicks, let's see what "solutions" he proposes: Impose a 50% tax on advertising. This proposal is so half-baked it's hardly worth considering. What, Mr. Korten, are we to do with the media which is advertising driven? Will people now be forced to pay money to watch tv, listen to the radio and visit web sites? Or will they just contain twice as many ads? Boy oh boy, what a wonderful world that would be!! In one particularly nauseating chapter, Korten goes on and on about what a wonderfully livable place Manhattan is, a la Harper's magazine. I wonder how Korten is dealing with the insanely high cost of living there (currently a one-bedroom apartment in his neighborhood rents for at least $2000 per month) which has been caused in large part by well-meaning, egalitarian laws such as the ones he supports. Sorry, David, but Manhattan has become a place only for the "clowd-dwelling" elite you so obviously despise. Is Mr. Korten helping to heal the world? Let's see, he took MBA and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford's graduate school of business. Because he attended those programs, there is at least one person out there who was rejected by the school's admissions board. I wonder what that person would have done, had he been able to attend. He might well have started his own company by thinking up a product or service that people would find useful. In launching and running the company, he would have provided jobs to people, as well as value to investors, and most importantly, value to consumers. But no, he couldn't get started, because Korten took his place in b-school. And what does Korten do with his business school degrees? Sits at his Manhattan apartment and writes anti-capitalist, anti-freedom tirades. Keep up the good work, Korten! You'll have us all in chains soon! To his credit, Korten gets a few valid digs in at the IMF and the World Bank. Unfortunately, he shares those agencies' passion for top-down, bureaucratic, forcible programs. Skip this book.
Rating:
Summary: THE BOOK on Corporate Power and Democracy
Review: This is THE book to read if you want to gain an understanding of the big picture in America today.
Rating:
Summary: The one book that was able to chang my outlook on economics.
Review: This book was originally assigned for a Poli-Sci class I took at a community college in Korten's hometown. We only read a few chapters, and it never stuck with me until I reread this book recently. I used to be your standard liberal democrat. After reading this book, and about the insidious colonization of our lives by greed brought about by a supposedly free market economic system that creates its own demand, I have become an ardent Green. This book indicts the north and the northern governments' power base (money supplied by big money interests), in their attempt at extracting all of the wealth the world has to offer - measures that will spell doom for most of this planet. This book would provide insight for any young American who has become disillusioned with the "American Dream". It shows us that we need to create an American Dream based on the philosophy that we, and the rest of the world, need livelihoods, not jobs.
Rating:
Summary: Korten Provides Hope In a Troubling World
Review: The most touching aspect I found in this book was the extent to which Mr. Korten as able to provide enthusiasm and hope in place of the bleak picture of the very real pain caused by the growth of the economic elite, the transnational corporations and the international institutions that support them. Mr. Korten's tale, while filled with verifiable facts and sharp analysis is one of personal engagement. He tells of how he spent most of his career working in international development and how he developed these perspectives. More importantly, he give reason for hope and always makes radical change seem possible and even likely. With more like Korten, we may yet save the planet.
Rating:
Summary: Unconvincing
Review: The author did a poor job of actually proving to the reader that the current system is worse than his proposed eutopia. Most of his "evidence" is rather anecdotal and I left the book more skeptical than when I started. While I am all for equity, I have a difficult time swallowing the notion of entitlements. For a much more compelling argument against large business try "The Bigness Complex" by Brock and Adams. One big plus for this book is that he actually outlines a plan of action rather than just railing against the current system.
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