Empires of Profit: Commerce, Conquest and Corporate Responsibility Daniel Litvin Texere
This is the story of the spread of western-style capitalism around the world, and its effects, often unpleasant, on the local populace. On the one hand, this is a history of corporate greed. Of how big businesses have ruthlessly toyed with colonies, and then developing countries, in their sole quest for profit. From the British East India Company in the nineteenth century to United Fruit in central America and Shell in Nigeria, all have contributed fodder to the discernible anti-globalisation sentiment that is so evident today.
But alongside all that greed, multinationals have, at times, also displayed surprisingly benevolent attitudes, proving that one cannot write off globalisation as evil merely at face value. There is much more to the picture, and Daniel Litvin's study is an attempt at looking into all the issues involved.