This is a map of “The Corporate States of America”. For each of the fifty states (and the District of Columbia), I selected a corporation or brand that best represented the states. My criteria are subjective, but in each case, I tried to use a brand that a) is based in that state and b) is still in business (as of 2012).
I created this map after writing an article about corporate feudalism. My hypothesis is that, as corporations and non-governmental organizations grow in power, the power of nation states will become increasingly irrelevant. We’re already seeing this on a small scale, as people turn to the Internet to make friends, instead of befriending their neighbors. I think that, as corporations become the dominant organizations on Earth, people will start thinking of themselves as citizens of Apple or partisans of Starbucks.
One thing I discovered while writing this article is that corporations are not evenly distributed across the country. Some states, such New Mexico, Alaska, Montana and West Virginia, simply do not host many big corporations. Others host so many that choosing one was difficult. In these cases, I went with the company that I though best represented the state, rather than the biggest or most notorious. Hence, I used Dr Pepper for Texas instead of ExxonMobil.
What do you think of my selection? Are there brands that you’d rather see on there?
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Marnie Singer
November 5, 2012 at 12:14 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I found this on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151207838240983&set=a.322689300982.159055.107925785982&.
Can you also list the companies by state? I can’t read what Delaware and Rhode Island are!
Thanks!
Chase
March 5, 2013 at 10:04 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Wisconsin should be Miller or US Bank, not HD…. HD is pretty benign compared to the former two.
FunKyChick
May 9, 2013 at 9:01 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Kentucky = KFC
Torsten Adair
June 3, 2013 at 2:56 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Legally, most corporations are incorporated in Delaware.
New York: General Electric. Or if you use “representative”, then Macy’s.
Nebraska: Con Agra Foods
Illinois: Sears? McDonalds?
alexis
June 5, 2013 at 9:27 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Massachusetts should be Sam Adams or Raytheon. How is Connecticut, the insurance capital of the world, represented by GE?
Steve Lovelace
June 5, 2013 at 9:45 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
It’s been interesting to hear from people all over the US about what company should represent their state. I may have to do an updated graphic based on all the feedback I’ve received.
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March 5, 2013 at 9:23 am (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] The Corporate States of America. [...]
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April 23, 2013 at 4:02 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[...] and it has influenced his views well into the 21st century. Even now, as one of the largest corporations in the world, Apple positions itself as the choice of outsiders, with Jobs as the leader of the [...]