"To discover to the world something which deeply concerns it, and of which it was previously ignorant; to prove to it that it had been mistaken on some vital point of temporal or spiritual interest, is as important a service as a human being can render to his fellow creatures..."
John Stuart Mill, "On Liberty"
Perhaps the recent economic crises reminded us that corporations and business matter a lot. Over many decades we’ve seen the balance of power between government and business; the breakup of Standard Oil in the Gilded Age, the breakup of IBM, the government's battle against Microsoft. All reflect what happens when companies are feared to become too big.
But today, sitting atop the corporate colossus is Exxon Mobil. An old style corporation whose policies, politics, and personalities impact us profoundly. Pulitzer Prize winning writer and journalist Steve Coll, takes us inside the Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power.
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