2026-01-19
7 分钟The Economist Hello, Alice Fullwood here.
Co-host of Money Talks, our weekly podcast on markets, the economy and business.
Welcome to Alisa's Pics.
You're about to hear an article from the latest edition of The Economist.
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For much of modern history, multinational enterprises have acted hand in glove with the state.
Britain and the Netherlands were bankrolled by their East India companies and provided military and diplomatic support in return.
Germany's Krupp and Japan's Mitsubishi aided industrialisation,
while their government secured mines and markets abroad.
American interventions helped oil firms secure foreign resources, Then for a spell,
starting in the 1980s,
governments stepped back and multinational spread unconstrained across the globe.
Today, however, gumboat capitalism is back.
When the bosses of many of the world's biggest companies assemble in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos next week,
a preoccupation will be the stunning intrusion of governments into their cross-border dealings.
As war has returned to Europe and authoritarian China has become more assertive,
politicians have redrawn the map for global business,
setting out where multinationals can and cannot operate.
America's President Donald Trump is taking things further.
He sees companies as a useful tool to enhance state power.