Careful --- corporations (even the one you work at) are probably not
more important than major governments *yet*. (Microsoft's more
important than the government of Fiji, but that's not what you were
talking about).
On the other hand, they're *becoming* more important, and also
increasingly acting to shed any national identity. The latter trend
is particularly startling --- you'd think people would be a little
more worried that the combined Boeing/McDonnell Douglas juggernaut,
whose support the U.S. armed forces would require in any crisis, has
an announced policy of shedding its American identity, and cozying up
to China (a potential Big Power Game opponent).
That analysis, of course, assumes that present trends will continue
without interruption (from, e.g., massive economic or technological
disruptions --- think substantial Y2K lossage on top of an endogenous
recession --- which would require relief that only governments are
currently equipped to provide, and might act to temporarily reset the
balance. Then again, they way the world is now, they'd probably hire
it out to corporations and mortgage their sovereignty a bit more in
the process...).
That said, maybe I'd better start looking into this ISO 9000 thing...
rst