Corporate police state

A Corporate police state is a system of government in which corporations control the power and money of a society. It could be argued that a corporate police state would manifest itself in the form of modern feudalism, or, in combination with sufficient nationalism, could manifest as a form of fascism.

This form of government would use that power to enact laws which maximize corporate profits without regard for personal liberty. Corporate police states have gained a certain amount of attention as observers or demagogues have each noted certain similarities between current politics in the United States of America, and the corporate police state. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has himself remarked, "We are a corporate state."

A great number of activists are currently engaged in resisting the formation of a corporate police state in America. For examples, see Ken Mondschein's Corporate Motherfucker (http://www.corporatemofo.com/), Sander Hick's Soft Skull Press (http://www.softskull.com/), and the Disinformation collective (http://www.disinfo.org/).

Corporate police states are commonly depicted in dystopian popular literature, particularly science fiction. Examples include:

Literature:

• He, She, and It[?]
• Neuromancer by William Gibson (see zaibatsu)
• Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
• Chronicles of Doodah by George Lee Walker

Movies:

• Aliens
• Rollerball (both 1975 and 2002)
• Robocop[?]

See also corporatocracy, industrial revolution, plutocracy, police state