Even if you do not recognize that multinational corporations are institutions of domination and control, in and of themselves, you cannot fail to acknowledge that they, and their owners, exert unparalleled political influence over the government…no matter what government you are talking about.
There is no question that they have the power to force policy changes; they do it all the time. But they do it now exclusively for their own interests. There is no reason why we cannot compel them to use that power for the public good. Government can ignore us, and does; but corporations cannot be ignored. Governments can jail us, and do; but corporations enjoy a level of immunity even greater than diplomats.
Why should we fling ourselves against the government, while we are so effortlessly marginalized and neutralized? If we continue on that route, violence is inevitable The more we struggle for the redress of our grievances and are dismissed, the more we will become desperate, and the more we will escalate, and the more we will start to think that the only way to be heard is to do something dramatic; and more often than not, that means something bloody.
We have another option. We can fling corporations at the government. A single major multinational company has more significance to the state than even a million protesters in the street. A single phone call from a CEO will be more convincing than any act of political violence.
We have to commandeer their power, we have to democratize their influence. Yes, we have to turn our attention, direct our activism, our organizing, our campaigning, our protests, our resistance, towards the institutions of private power. Disable the efficiency of their business, disrupt profitability, inflict financial loss, and sink their share values; while simultaneously explaining to them our demands, telling them what we want them to do if they want to restore normal operations in our countries.