The Company - Softcover

John / Wooldridge Micklethwait; Adrian Wooldridge

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0753820404 ISBN 13: 9780753820407

Publisher: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd ), 2005

Synopsis

A unique history of Britain's most influential invention - from the East India Company to EnronThe present day might be called a corporate age but the power of the company is nothing new: From Renaissance Italy to the British East India Company, it is impossible to understand the history of the last few hundred years without placing the humble company at the centre of the picture. What other institution could have produced the slave trade, opium wars, the stock market and the British Empire, the 'company man' and globalization The history of the company includes some shocking tales, since companies have always rewarded some of the most greedy and unscrupulous - but they have also undoubtedly shaped the modern world. Today companies are increasingly regulated, but will there always be a new South Sea Bubble or another Enron The authors extend their historical account to look at the company's future, which is, surprisingly, as smaller and more diverse. They explode the myth of a 'silent takeover' by corporations and challenge the assumptions of the anti-globalization movement, but make the ongoing power of the company abundantly clear.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Praise for The Company by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge

“The limited-liability joint-stock company is a very marvel of the modern world economy, a historical force to rival religions, monarchies, and even states. The Company tells the colorful story of its birth and maturation—and its pervasive social and cultural consequences—with rare concision and flair.” —David M. Kennedy, author of Freedom from Fear and professor of history at Stanford University

“A fascinating and delightful investigation both of how the guilds and ‘corporate persons’ of the Middle Ages turned into the institution from which so many people today directly and indirectly earn their daily bread and of the issues facing the company in the twenty-first century.” —Daniel Yergin, author of The Prize and coauthor of The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy

From the Inside Flap

Chosen by "BusinessWeek as One of the Top Ten Business Books of the Year
"
With apologies to Hegel, Marx, and Lenin, the basic unit of modern society is neither the state, nor the commune, nor the party; it is the company. From this bold premise, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge chart the rise of one of history's great catalysts for good and evil.
In a "fast-paced and well-written" work ("Forbes), the authors reveal how innovations such as limitations on liability have permitted companies to rival religions and even states in importance, governing the flow of wealth and controlling human affairs-all while being largely exempt from the rules that govern our lives.
"The Company is that rare, remarkable book that fills a major gap we scarcely knew existed. With it, we are better able to make sense of the past four centuries, as well as the events of today.

About this edition

• Publisher: Phoenix (an Imprint of The Orion Publishing Group Ltd )
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0753820404
• ISBN 13: 9780753820407
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 214