> I'm not sure what the author was trying to imply here - obviously something about Obama getting help from corporations in an effort to force a couple of state

> I'm not sure what the author was trying to imply here - obviously something about Obama getting help from corporations in an effort to force a couple of states to - gasp - treat humans with dignity and respect. I believe the author's point was broader than that, more about the dangerous power that corporations wield over their supply chains. From further up in the paragraph you quoted: > International corporations are constantly threatening and laying down the law to backward societies. And from the previous paragraph: > If the English people were better, they could have had those jobs, but they have proved unworthy—they have failed the global supply chain. Any sense that the economy should serve the citizenry and not vice-versa tends to get lost. In other words, the citizenry are only a link in the chain that can be replaced at will, and have thus become subservient to the corporations, for good or ill. Thus the author closes by saying, > It is hard to say whether we were right to go down this road. Even if the ring is used for good, it might not end well.