Absolutely Literate

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Chocolate Wars

Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World's Greatest Chocolate MakersChocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World's Greatest Chocolate Makers by Deborah Cadbury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In light of the recent Occupy movement this book's chronicle of the origins of Cadbury and their Quaker motivations to the present day world of globalization was facinating.

Has globalization taken us back to the days of Dickens? Corporations talk about corporate responsibility but the reality is that they see themselves as beholden to the shareholders. Shareholders want a return on their investment and they want it now. There is a disconnent between short term wealth generation and long term growth that is good for shareholders, employees, and consumers.

The Quaker ideals that wealth creation was not for personal gain but for the benefit of society may seem quaint today until you look at some statistics. "In the United States, the ratio of chief executive pay to factory worker pay has risen from 42:1 in 1960 to 344:1 in 2007." (p 308)

Read the book and learn the origins of Dairy Milk, Smarties, and the chocolate industry.

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