The Essense of Capitalism - The Origins of our Future
The Essense of Capitalism - The Origins of our Future
Author: Humphrey McQueen
ISBN: 0-7336-0940-6
Date: 2001
Publisher: Hodder Headline Australia Pty Ltd, www.hha.com.au
AU$??.??, 306 pages
Why I like it
I was in a book store just prior to leaving on holidays in 2002 and this book caught my eye - not because of the title but because of its interesting cover which immediately made me think of the Coca-Cola company. After reading the first few pages in the store, I was absolutely hooked on what is really a very, very well written story about Coca-cola's rise to fame, their ongoing fight with staff, competitors and themselves. I've read my copy cover to cover so many times that the entire book is dog-eared and the pages all but falling out -- it really is an interesting, often humerous read.
I don't feel my writing can do this book justice so I've here's the review from EduBooks [http://www.edu-books.com/The_Essence_of_Capitalism_The_Origins_of_Our_Future_1551642204.html]
"Any book that tries to cover everything about the history of Capitalism is doomed to fail because of the extent of its history. This book however avoids that by containing itself to using Coca-Cola as its base to start from. This is not a book about the benefits and wonders of Capitalism. It is a bare bones, warts and all tale of how Coke was lucky in its marketing and business practices to enable The Company to expand beyond its original market (that which a horse drawn cart could cover in a day) to todays massive corporate juggernaut. Through the use of the franchise, extreme quality control and powerful marketing it show how the company went from being a feel good tonic in competition with over a thousand other similar drinks to being the major market force for soda pop. The book covers topics such as the creation of the idea of a corporation to having the status of 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. A frightening set of examples are presented, enough to make the strongest advocate of free market forces to rethink their position. An excellent book which goes hand in hand with Naomi Kleins No Logo and Eric Schlossers Fast Food Nation"
Blurb
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.
Author: Humphrey McQueen
ISBN: 0-7336-0940-6
Date: 2001
Publisher: Hodder Headline Australia Pty Ltd, www.hha.com.au
AU$??.??, 306 pages
Why I like it
I was in a book store just prior to leaving on holidays in 2002 and this book caught my eye - not because of the title but because of its interesting cover which immediately made me think of the Coca-Cola company. After reading the first few pages in the store, I was absolutely hooked on what is really a very, very well written story about Coca-cola's rise to fame, their ongoing fight with staff, competitors and themselves. I've read my copy cover to cover so many times that the entire book is dog-eared and the pages all but falling out -- it really is an interesting, often humerous read.
I don't feel my writing can do this book justice so I've here's the review from EduBooks [http://www.edu-books.com/The_Essence_of_Capitalism_The_Origins_of_Our_Future_1551642204.html]
"Any book that tries to cover everything about the history of Capitalism is doomed to fail because of the extent of its history. This book however avoids that by containing itself to using Coca-Cola as its base to start from. This is not a book about the benefits and wonders of Capitalism. It is a bare bones, warts and all tale of how Coke was lucky in its marketing and business practices to enable The Company to expand beyond its original market (that which a horse drawn cart could cover in a day) to todays massive corporate juggernaut. Through the use of the franchise, extreme quality control and powerful marketing it show how the company went from being a feel good tonic in competition with over a thousand other similar drinks to being the major market force for soda pop. The book covers topics such as the creation of the idea of a corporation to having the status of 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. A frightening set of examples are presented, enough to make the strongest advocate of free market forces to rethink their position. An excellent book which goes hand in hand with Naomi Kleins No Logo and Eric Schlossers Fast Food Nation"
Blurb
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.
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