Corporations are no longer anchored to the countries that once determined the rules for corporate relations to social needs. Global companies are racing against each other to the lowest social wage. Corporate investment in developing countries brings previously unavailable resources and opportunities. Most of the world s nation-states now embrace the concept of political democracy, however flawed their implementation of it may be. This occurs just as corporations are eclipsing nation-states as world powers.
Some global corporations are larger economic units and have greater influence than some countries.
The WTO treaties and protocols focus on protecting the free flow of capital, if necessary, at the expense of control by local civil authorities. Communities are losing the means to protect local civil society interests if they conflict with corporate interests. COG proposes broadening ownership of capital assets, and employee ownership particularly, as one countervailing force to protect democracy. Just as political democracy is acknowledged as appropriate power sharing in modern civil society, so broad shareholder rights would spread economic democracy and create civil social control over corporations. While nation-states still have considerable power, it makes sense for them to use it to help their citizens obtain the franchise in corporations to maintain citizen control as we enter the period of corporate hegemony.