Free Market Missionaries ― The Corporate Manipulation of Community Values

Suggesting that we are currently witnessing a revolutionary shift from democracy to corporate rule representing a wholesale change in cultural values and aspirations, Beder (formerly of the U. of Wollongong School of Social Sciences, Media and Communication in Australia) argues that this shift is the product of a deliberate strategy by corporate executives, who have mobilized their enormous financial and political resources in order to promote a free market ideology that trumps values of individuality, truth, justice, and democracy. She charts the development and institutions of this ideological campaign from the 1970s onwards, describing the public relations campaigns, corporate influence over economic education, pro-business think tanks, international economic advisers, and ideological academic constructs that are complicit in the campaign. Distributed in the US by Stylus. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Professor Beder is a qualified professional engineer and worked in this field until a career shift into researching and teaching environmental politics. She has held a number of appointments at Australian universities over the past two decades - most recently as professor in the School of Social Sciences, Media and Communication at the University of Wollongong in Australia. Her previous books include Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on Environmentalism.