It has become a truism in politics that "corporations have become too powerful." Few people understand, however, that there has been a vast shift in global power between 1990 and 2010, corporate power has now exceeded national power and global economic structures now have unchecked control over democratic governments. Power has passed to multi-national corporations who have no country, owe allegiance to no government, and answer to no nation. They have become supra-national. This book is a history of corporations, as they grew from small tightly-controlled public works to huge quasi-governmental behemoths who now have literal veto power over elected national governments.