The Essence of Capitalism

The Essence of Capitalism is a timely account of globalization, the consumer culture, and the historical roots of our contemporary dilemmas. By tracking the 130-year history of Coca-Cola (and a number of other large American or transnational corporations), this book details all that is best, worst and most powerful about global capitalism.Using Coca-Cola’s rise as a case study, here is the tale of how Coca-Cola employed marketing and business practices that enabled it to expand beyond its original market (that which a horse-drawn cart could cover in a day) to -today’s massive corporate status. Through the use of the franchise, extreme quality control and powerful marketing, it shows how Coca-Cola—a company with virtually one product that nobody actually needs and that is, in its original sugar-laden form, plainly very bad for people—went from being a feel-good tonic in competition with more than a thousand other similar drinks to being the major market force for soft drinks.The book covers topics such as the creation of the idea of a corporation having the status of a person, how the money market works in the flow of capital, the effect of marketing and advertising on consumer tastes and how free trade really becomes oligopoly. By presenting a frightening set of examples, McQueen even joins the debate over what constitutes human nature when he demonstrates how corporations are creating a second nature by altering our needs, whether through the saturation of food with sweeteners or through genetic manipulation.Humphrey McQueen, an original and provocative thinker, features regularly as a commentator on Australian radio, and as a contributor to various newspapers and magazines. He is the author of more than a dozen books on subjects ranging through history, politics and the visual arts.

What Coca Cola teaches us about the way corporations take on the world. Coca Cola is one of the most powerful companies in the world. How did it become so successful and what do its secrets tell us about the way corporations work and the way they set out to mould the world in their likeness?