acquisition
An acquisition is the ceremonial act of socialized plunder, wherein the ultimate persuasive force of capital subsumes another’s business into one’s sphere of influence. Dressed up as strategic decisions, these moves are often legitimized by the weight of seals stamped on documents named ethics. The acquired company is handed what appears to be a congratulatory receipt, only to be conscripted into an allegiance ritual called integration. Investors pop champagne as if to celebrate victory, its effervescence soon tainted by the bitter flavors of cost-cutting and restructuring. What remains in the end is nothing but a press release lauding the acquisition’s glamour and the schizophrenic chaos of merged corporate cultures.