Moreover, it should be noted that this giant enterprise’s growth is not merely a national phenomenon. State intervention itself tends to expedite this process despite its professed desire to curb monopolies and safeguard the interests of small businesses the enormous political significance of this concentration of private economic power on American polity is a major concern chapter.
There is every reason to believe that this domination of America’s economy by giant corporations has become even more marked in recent years. Three hundred and eighty-four big corporations accounted for 55 percent of these expenditures, but 260,000 small firms accounted for only 7 percent. Four corporations accounted for about 22 percent of all industrial research and development. In the first half of the decade (June 1950 June 1956), a hundred firms received two-thirds by the value of all defense contracts, ten firms received one-third.Īccording to Galbraith, twenty-eight corporations provided about 10 percent of all employment in manufacturing, mining, and trade. Some two hundred in all accounted for about 80 percent of all manufacturing resources in the United States. The five hundred largest had well over two-thirds of corporations with assets above $10,000,600. The fifty largest corporations had over a third of all manufacturing assets. Professor Galbraith says: in 1962, the five largest industrial corporations in the United States, with combined assets of $36 billion, possessed over 12 percent of all assets used in manufacturing. Whatever aspects of their economic activity, we measure employment, investment, research and development, military supply.
Concerning the United States, Carl Kaysen admits, A few large corporations are of overwhelmingly disproportionate importance in our economy, especially in certain key sectors. Ralph Miliband dissents and regards advanced capitalism as all but synonymous with giant enterprise, which dominates its industry, commerce, and finance sectors.