The Jagged Orbit is about paperclip-maximizing corporations (except that the biggest one, Gottschalk, is selling weapons, not paperclips) manipulating social at

The Jagged Orbit is about paperclip-maximizing corporations (except that the biggest one, Gottschalk, is selling weapons, not paperclips) manipulating social attitudes and legislation to increase their profits. People are encouraged to fear based on skin color, social class, wealth inequality, gender, and age. The Gottschalk corp is descended from a legitimization of the Mafia, and has competing divisions locked into an internal war. Executives change their last names to that of the company, a device later used in Max Barry's _Jennifer Government_.