The company

With apologies to Hegel, Marx, and Lenin, the basic unit of mod- W ern society is neither the state, nor the commune, nor the party; it is the company. From this bold premise, John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge chart the rise of one of history's great catalysts for good and evil. In a "fast-paced and well-written" work (Forbes), the authors reveal how innovations such as limitations on liability have permitted companies to rival religions and even states in importance, as they govern the flow of wealth and control human affairs-all while being largely exempt from the rules that structure our lives.

The Company is the rare, remarkable book that fills a major gap we scarcely knew existed. With it, we are better able to make sense of the past four centuries, as well as the events of today.