business/ businesses

Ms. Klein is a Canadian author who wrote that the struggle between the masses and the entrepreneur would be the decisive duel of the 21st century. She warned that free democracy would come to an end if the entrepreneur won the duel. Professor Hertz of Cambridge University also warned that we will soon be living in a world where business becomes predominant, market precedes the law, and elections become stories of the past. These are warnings that the world will become a place where multinational corporations that wield limitless power will replace governments elected by people through a democratic procedure. Indeed, even today a considerable number of people think the power of businesses is stronger than that of government.

Q) Does the first "business" mean a big company(corporation)?
Q) What about the second "businesses?" Does it also mean the same as question number one?
If so, why there is no article a in the first "business?"