Bananas!: How The United Fruit Company Shaped the World
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Bananas!: How The United Fruit Company Shaped the World Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
From jungle capitalism to neoliberalism
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"Bananas: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World" by Peter Chapman is a sardonic history of the archetypal multinational corporation, United Fruit Company. The articulately researched book benefits from Mr. Chapman's decades of interest in the subject, including a student thesis written at the University of Sussex in 1975 and later as a news correspondent based in Central America. Possessing a mature understanding of business and politics, the intelligent and witty British author proves to be a perfect fit for the project; his vivid writing style and thoughtful analysis conveys to us a colorful but vitally important piece of history that is understood to be highly relevant to our contemporary world.
Mr. Chapman discusses how the banana became a consumer staple and cultural symbol due to United Fruit's masterful coordination of its massive production, marketing and distribution systems. Mr. Chapman recounts the exploits of the company's founders and their numerous adventures in power politics both in Central America and in the U.S., laying bare a particular form of capitalism where the company and state repeatedly colluded against the interests of the working class and was not reluctant to use violence when necessary. We learn how United Fruit was a leader in the art of corporate branding to win consumer loyalty. However, as the United Fruit's extreme labor practices drove its peasant laborer into desperation and rebellion, the U.S. government turned against the company and helped lay the groundwork for its demise.
In the Epilogue, Mr. Chapman brilliantly connects the "jungle capitalism" that was exemplified by United Fruit with the neoliberalism of today. Mr. Chapman explains that United Fruit insisted on low taxes and deregulation, exploited its labor force, abused its environmental resources, insinuated itself with the politically powerful and falsely proclaimed its social responsibility well before others recognized these tactics to be so-called corporate best practices. The author astutely concludes that as globalization has taken hold in the post-Cold War era, the Banana Republic way of life has increasingly become the norm, with profound consequences for us all.
I highly recommend this entertaining and engaging book to everyone.
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