Nation building is the history of American business - analysis

• Published date: 09 October 2021
• Author: HAROLD GOLDMEIER
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

History teaches how religious beliefs, military prowess, political architecture, and entrepreneurial sparkle weave a tenacious web in nation and empire-building. Yet, business history receives short shrift in business schools and academic writing. Prof. Richard Vague, in An Illustrated Business History of the United States (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021) writes: "Less has been written on this subject than on US political, military or social history, even though… business is equal to any of those fields in influence on society and arguably greater."

Real estate is the business of business

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The pursuit of wealth always determined the priorities in Western countries. For instance, colonialism and its by-product of slavery became enshrined in law. Tax codes favor corporations over individuals. The Dutch East India Company valuation hit $8.28 trillion in 1637. By 1720, the English South Sea Company and Mississippi Company were valued at $4.5 and $6.8 trillion.

Before the issuance of the Declaration of Independence, wealthy Virginians established The Ohio Company in 1748. It was essentially a real estate company to profit from westward expansion. "From the outset, ambitious Americans well understood that buying land and waiting for the population to increase was a path to riches." Andrew Carnegie quipped, "90% of all millionaires become so through owning real estate." I know Ray Kroc became one by insisting franchisees lease their McDonald's from Kroc. American real estate is valued at $60 trillion. Real estate is "the single highest-value asset in the United States, greater than the value of stocks, bonds, or any other major asset category," Vague reports.

War is the business of business

Real estate undergirds the American empire. We never exit a country we invade without maintaining bases on land we captured, except Afghanistan. War outdistances marketing and Hollywood movies as the means for expanding business and leaving our stamp on the local culture.

American imperium is not threatened despite our hideous exits from Cuba, Vietnam, Iran, Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan. We maintain over 200,000 military troops on 800 known bases in 150 of the 195 nation-states across the globe. Eleven US aircraft carriers roam the seas. America spends more money employing more people engaging in cyberwarfare and intelligence...