What if Large Businesses Are Really Macroeconomic Entities?
Yves here. I assume that most readers would regard Richard Murphys observation that some companies are as or even more powerful than governments as obvious. But he is correct to point out that economists and policy makers dont seem to have integrated that development adequately into their thinking. Only now are governments kinda-sorta coming to grips with the fact that international mega businesses are threats to governments. It isnt just that these companies are very skilled at all sorts of arbitrage. It is also that they often have enough clout domestically to make it difficult to check them, or worse, have managed to get themselves seen as national champions. China still saw fit to go after Jack Ma, but that regime believes in the importance of official authority and has not fallen for the libertarian love of markets. Its hard to think what Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk would have to do to be on the receiving end of a similar wings-clipping in the US.