Are Webs Of Global Power Holding Us Back From Reaching Our Full Potential?

Are global financial and political power concentrated too fully in the hands of a few? Commentator Stuart Kauffman is concerned that the answer is probably "yes."

by Stuart Kauffman

An analysis of corporate ownership across the globe recently grabbed my attention. It depicts a web of direct and indirect control in the relationships between 43,060 trans-national corporations (TNC). Published by S. Vitali, J. Glattfelder and S.Battison in September 2011, "The network of global corporate control" offers a fundamental view of the global economy. It is a view that should be of interest to all of us because the results are stunning. A mere 737 trans-national corporations — including many of the world's largest banks — form a cluster of relationships that, taken together, have significant influence over all 43,060 trans-national corporations in the study! The research shows cross ownership and degrees of control between these banks and other corporations through some rather complex diagrams. If we take it for granted that it's an accurate portrayal of the relationships between these companies, then we can ask some important questions. First, let's suppose 50 people per company have effective control of ...