Alec Ross, Obama White House alum and New York Times bestselling author of The Industries of the Future, offers a gripping, accessible account of how huge corporations have started acting like nations and how everyday people can help repair the fragile power balance between government and business. Starting with the industrial revolution, companies have held the power to shape our daily lives in ways both positive and negative, while the state held the power to make them fall in line, and the people held the power to choose their leaders. This compact, through ups and downs, stood firm for 150 years. But in the latest wave of globalization, the balance has shaken loose. As the market consolidates under fewer and larger companies, the lines between Walmart and the Halls of Congress has become razor thin. It's in the interest of private companies to behave like nations-to invest in defense, foreign contracts, data mining, and intelligence. And...