America and the Multinational Corporation: The History of a Troubled Partnership

This work tells the story of the postwar relationship between the American multinational corporation and the Federal government, integrating it into the mainstream of American history. The study records the continuous adjustments on the part of both the government and the multinationals as they navigated the uncharted waters of a postwar partnership. Whether treating IBM’s presence in South Africa, Coca Cola’s expansion into China, or the antitrust policies of the Justice Department, this book offers an objective narrative of the corporate-government partnership in international business. It tracks the various presidential perspectives from Truman to Bush, as well as the major initiatives of Congress. John Reardon rejects the simplistic notion that the American multinational is a threat to the nation-state or that the government must tame the corporation. Rather, theirs is a complex and continuously evolving relationship that can benefit and harm all involved, including economic society, and so must be carefully managed. His study should be of interest to all scholars in American economic and business history.