Private government How employers rule our lives (and why we don't talk about it)

This book develops the thesis that a significant portion of the US work force is mistreated and dominated by owners and bosses with arbitrary powers similar to authoritarian governments. The beginning chapters develop this case, and later chapters include responses from scholars in social science and philosophy. The historical debate is important in sorting out whether the economic optimism of Adam Smith and other Enlightenment thinkers is relevant to labor's situation in the modern economy. Anderson suggests that individual, entrepreneurial, small-scale production has evolved into large corporate enterprises that leave laborers in bondage with little hope of meaningful change. The comments section questions whether workers are seriously mistreated because turnover, regulations, constitutional rights, and worker voice options limit employer power. Anderson responds with data and counterarguments to confirm her thesis. A reader might benefit from reviewing this final response chapter first because it includes the data hoped for earlier and alerts one to the key issues explored in the earlier chapters. Overall, this is a well-documented, captivating discussion that should be addressed in an interdisciplinary manner, and an excellent starting point to make that happen. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. --James Halteman, Wheaton College