This is a question from an ignorant Australian, but I've been reading about some companies in the US that are obviously very important but which I haven't heard of before:

What is Chevron?

DuPont?

-- Leo (leo_champion@hotmail.com), December 02, 1998

Answers

Hi Leo. I'm still thinking about that great post and your 'novel'. Anyway, you can find out a lot of info on each of these companies just by going to their web sites. Enjoy.

(www.chevron.com and www.dupont.com)

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), December 02, 1998.

Leo,

Chevron is one of the big oil companies. It was at one time Standard Oil of California. Exxon and Mobil, which are in the news now because of their impending merger were Standard Oil of New Jersey, and Standard Oil of New York. These companies were part of the conglomerate started by John D. Rockefeller. The merger is being handled by the J.P. Morgan brokerage firm started by, you guessed it, J.P. Morgan.(U.S. Steel, banking, etc.) He was a contemporary of Rockefeller's at the turn of the century. These guys and others, were the "Robber Barons."

Their empires were torn apart, reconfigured, times changed, and now they're all merging back together in different configurations.

DuPont is a chemical company based in the small state of Delaware. Or should I say it IS the small state of Delaware. Delaware has, well to put it simply, different laws of incorporation than most states. A lot of companies incorporate in Delaware, even if they don't do business there. It's kind of like Liberia.

A lot of these companies are dynastic. They have lives of their own and more rights than citizens. These companies are Global citizens. These companies, and the people who run them are the backbone of the corporate state, which is quickly replacing the nation state as the seat of power in the world.

I believe that the present "merger mania" in the corporate world will serve to consolidate industrial power into a very few hands, and Y2K will speed it along like nothing else. In fact, post-Y2K, there will probably only be one Oil company (Standard Oil?) one Bank (Rothschild, when it comes down to it) one auto manufacturer (General Chrysler- Benz?) one food company (Archer Daniels/Nabisco?) two media companies (Time/Disney and Foxiversal) one computer company (Y2IBM) one software company (Microscape On-Line) one airplane manufacturer (BoeingBus? - its planes will fall from the sky) and three armies (Chinese, UN and Isladdam). Morgan Stanley Kravis Gates will finance all sides when these armies have wars, and DeBeers/Buffett will split up the booty.

Sorry, went off on a tangent there.

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), December 02, 1998.