Powers and limits of transnational corporations: the case of ADM

摘要

This analysis employs the case of lysine price fixing involving the food-processing transnational corporation (TNC) Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) and Asian-based firms. In an "economy and society" conceptual framework grounded in the sociology of agriculture and food, we investigate the powers and limits of TNCs in the global era. We argue that TNCs maintain significant powers which allow them to avoid the laws and regulations of nation-states. ADM was able to organize an illegal global cartel to control the world production and price of the feed supplement lysine. In addition, TNCs' actions in the global arena are limited by their inability to trust business partners and to organize and maintain systems of social control; these roles historically have been played by the nationstate. We conclude that despite their significant powers, TNCs' contradictory position in the global arena provides opportunities that can be used to democratize society.