It's big in the sense that it exercised power in a way that dwarfs what we currently regard as modern corporate kleptocracy. The Company wasn't just a trading company, it was responsible for exercising political power in India on behalf of the British crown, and even operated its own military forces.
It's precisely this excess concentration of monopoly power that Adam Smith described in The Wealth of Nations as a criticism of capitalism gone awry [1].
Probably as close to a real-life manifestation of Shinra as we've ever had in history.
Comments
It's big in the sense that it exercised power in a way that dwarfs what we currently regard as modern corporate kleptocracy. The Company wasn't just a trading company, it was responsible for exercising political power in India on behalf of the British crown, and even operated its own military forces.
It's precisely this excess concentration of monopoly power that Adam Smith described in The Wealth of Nations as a criticism of capitalism gone awry [1].
Probably as close to a real-life manifestation of Shinra as we've ever had in history.
[1] http://www.newstatesman.com/200412130016.htm