Companies will usurp the nation-state

ompanies are wealthier than nation-states. With a market cap of $2.1 trillion, there are only seven countries in the world with a wealthier GDP than Apple—if it were a country, it would be part of the G7. Microsoft isn’t far behind—with a market cap of $1.9 trillion, it would be the 10th richest country in the world. Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Aramco has a market cap more than double its country’s GDP.1

Companies don’t have borders. Multinational corporations like Amazon, Netflix, Mitsubishi, Airbus, and BP operate around the world, with offices in many countries and employees who can easily move between them thanks to relocation packages and work visas. Though nation-states remain gridlocked against refugees and NGOs struggle to relocate them, after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, companies like Google, Snap, and Revolut helped workers relocate to European offices, paid for their moving expenses, and expanded operations in Poland and Dubai to hire talent migrating away from Ukraine.

To attract workers, companies have also pioneered workers’ rights. It was Kellogg and Ford that popularized the 40-hour work week and Panasonic that brought it to Japan. It was companies like General Motors that pioneered healthcare for employees, and companies like Dell, HSBC, and Bank of America that introduced “weekends” and “vacation days” to India. Today, companies like Spotify and Lululemon are pioneering six-month parental leave for both mothers and fathers and unlimited vacation time. Companies like Microsoft Japan, Kickstarter, and Buffer are experimenting with the four-day workweek. Costco recently raised its minimum wage to $30.

It is only after companies popularize workers’ rights that governments step in to legislate them. Laws creating the 40-hour workweek, vacation time, and maternity leave came only after companies made them successful. The US federal government still doesn’t mandate vacation time and maternity leave even though many companies do. Right now, governments are even hindering progress to workers’ rights. Independent contractors and gig workers are still not considered employees by US federal law and are only eligible for benefits if they work 30 hours a week or more. Once a law changed in Utah allowing independent and contract work to apply for benefits, Lyft and Target began running pilot programs in the state. Lyft drivers can now receive 7% of their quarterly earnings in a flexible benefit fund, and DoorDash is now running a similar pilot in Pennsylvania with workers earning 4%.

Companies often fill in the gaps where governments fail. Where the national education isn’t good enough, companies like Walgreens have stepped up to train its pharmacy technicians in-house, tech companies like Google began providing coding bootcamps to incoming high school graduates. Because of the need for more tech employees, Google provided technical training to more than 5 million people in Africa. As home ownership becomes more expensive, companies have had to step in and provide housing as well. Disney provides housing for theme park workers, Meta and SpaceX are building housing communities for their employees in Texas. Vail is now building housing for their hospitality staff in Park City, Vail, and Whistler. Ikea and Marriott are building employee housing to attract talent to their locations across Europe.