Companies are reshaping our society. It is not a new phenomenon, but the scope and speed of their impact are faster than ever. In 19th-century England, canal builders and railway engineers recast the demographic landscape, facilitating industrialisation, connecting faraway places and enabling ideas to travel too.

In the 20th century, airlines took up the baton, carrying goods, people, ideas and diseases further afield. Today, the most obvious shifts relate to electronic communications technology.