CAPITALISM: Commerce and people power

Supercapitalism By Robert Reich Scribe, 272pp, $32.95

CORPORATIONS are not people. A statement of the obvious, but how often do you hear politicians, or community groups, call on business to operate in the public interest, as if shame is all that is required to deliver a fairer society?

Robert Reich, one of the more readable economists, believes both capitalism and democracy would work better if we stopped pretending the two are somehow connected. Companies exist to make money. It is politicians, and through them the public, who can place a value on community, the environment and the like. Review by George Megalogenis. Weekend Australian Review 21 Jun 2008