I have often wondered why no matter how much effort well-intentioned people put into making needed changes in a system such as our economic model, the trajectory remains the same. Specifically, the power of corporations continues to grow, their methods become more exploitative leading to increasing wealth disparity between the owners and the working class. And our leaders are determined to keep the economy growing despite the obvious fact that we live on a finite planet with finite resources.
Many of us have made the connection between the capitalistic system, with its addiction to growth, and the environmental and social emergency we face today. Historically, there have been some significant efforts to control the power of corporations. The Sherman Act of 1890 aimed at preventing collusion between corporations to set prices during the height of the railroad boom. Corporations changed tactics. US Steel began merging with competitors until it controlled 65% of the steel manufacturing in the US. Theodore Roosevelt tried to break the company up, but it was not until the Clayton Act in 1914 that the antitrust laws had real teeth. But the rapid innovation of businesses always outpaces regulation as demonstrated by the stranglehold on information that Facebook and Google have.