Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back

(Random House) Rushkoff traces the history of how we came to be a society where “community” and personal connectedness have broken down. He argues that we live in an economy devised by law to promote the interests of large corporations — a system that began centuries ago with the creation of the first chartered companies. And in a society where most Americans have replaced personal decisions with market-tested solutions, he proposes that the current economic implosion is a chance for us to become reconnected to our towns, our values, and one another. Rushkoff is a media critic and documentarian. He teaches media studies at The New School.