I recently read a book called Power, Inc.—published shortly after the Citizens United decision—that sheds some light on the historical forces at work here. Basi

I recently read a book called Power, Inc.—published shortly after the Citizens United decision—that sheds some light on the historical forces at work here. Basically, the wealthiest private entities have become so powerful that they’re able to bully and dominate all but a handful of nation-states. We’re used to a straightforward, hierarchical taxonomy of power which places state actors at the top, followed by corporate actors and then individuals. That’s no longer an accurate description of reality; there’s a surprising amount of overlap between the supposed ranks. With that in mind, I no longer view policies like the one adopted by NZ as inherently “nativist” or “xenophobic”. Now I view them as defensive maneuvers being engaged by less powerful states against powerful private actors that operate on a global scale. That they’re coming a decade or more later than they probably should have is not surprising, given that speed is not a strength of the state. I also can’t help but laugh at the idea that these policies are motivated by racism. Edit: I got the publisher of Power, Inc. mixed up with that of another book I read around the same time.