The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age Kindle Edition

A great but short review of the history and problem of mega-corporations. With over 50 years in industry, I can attest that mergers and the era of mega-corporations (at the expense of smaller/medium companies) have done more to impoverish the middle class than automation or globalization. When a company is big enough to control the government, look out because their highest-return investment is in politicians to buy favors that distort the market in their favor. They also control the media, hence you don't hear about the loss of good jobs, the loss of innovation, the corruption of the patent process, and all the barriers to competition that lurk below the radar. This is not conspiracy theory stuff - it used to be recognized and limited by our government (the "trust busters") but no more. I wish Mr. Wu had presented more on government corruption and loss of innovation caused by bigness but this is a good start.

Tim Wu is spot-on. We are CITIZENS, not merely "consumers." And, large corporation should not be permitted to become more powerful than government (e.g., "regulatory capture," and market domination). I love it when I get a book that compels me to read straight through. I commend this book to everyone who cares about the continuation of our democracy (notwithstanding that I fear he's swimming against a very strong tide of economic hegemony and increasing autocracy).Great histories of Brandeis and Robert Bork, btw.

They all believe in mythical facts that big business does not need to be regulated. Rather bigness and concentration of private power is good for America. Most economists, however, believe that monopolies are destructive; they deliver poor products at inflated prices. Without vigorous antitrust enforcement, big companies combine, swallow smaller companies and exercise outsize influence over the American economy and politics. Just consider the 5 FAANG companies (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google), which together have a market capitalization greater than the GDP of the world-s 4th largest economy - Germany. Republicans tend to love monopolies and hate laws regulating competition. Consider the Department of Justice's lawsuit against Microsoft in 1999, which would have broken up the company and stopped its predatory practices. Then comes along George W. Bush and the case is settled on meagre terms. And not a single case of that type was brought during the 8 years of the Bush Administration. Do you feel you're trapped in the prison established by your cable company, telephone company, drug company, insurance company, and so on? Has consolidation in the airline industry made your flying experience better or airplane seat larger? Or do you wish you could buy some real beer, rather than the tasteless versions sold by Annheiser Bush, which owns 85% of all American breweries. And you thought America was about free choice. Hardly.Wu's book describes all of this, and how things might have been. It is well written and easily accessible to non-economists. Europe is far more aggressive against its would-be monopolists than we are. And it will get worse. As corporations get big, they begin to exercise political power, making decisions that affect our daily lives, and all without legal restraint. We appear to be living "Under the Dome."

An excellent short book on the dangers of unfettered power in the economic and corporate realm. Wu's method of providing a clearly explained historical context for the roots and origins of problems we face today works very well in exploring this contentious area. He makes a very persuasive link between the Gilded Age of the late 19th Century when Industrialists like Rockefeller, Carnegie and JP Morgan were a law unto themselves until they were reigned in by Teddy Roosevelt riding a wave of public perception that the Robber Barons needed to be brought under control.Wu rightly cites and admires Louis Brandeis as a key figure in this legal and political battle to redress the balance of power. He explains and justifies the reasons why the Antitrust laws were intended to address the large problem of suppression of competition and not just the narrow issue of "consumer welfare".This is a very relevant and timely book given the development towards ever greater concentration of economic power in very few companies in the modern world.

Excellent and readable synopsis which throws light on the tech barons of today and shows how nothing changes.

This is a short, incisive essay on what competition law (anti-trust law) means. It disputes the mechanical and quantitative interpretation of the Chicago School, that says competition law should concern itself only with whether a merger results in reduction in prices. Wu, like his predecessors, points to the issue that bigness itself can be a threat to a democratic order, since the big operators can simply buy themselves a compliant Congress. Whether you agree with Professor Wu or not, you will appreciate his lucid exposition of the issues and his brevity. He does not waste a word.

He describes amazon as a large monopoly with unrestricted market control, yet he’s selling his book on it, adding more power to amazon. If he believes the garbage he’s writing, he should’ve sold this on eBay.

Libro molto scorrevole. La lettura risulta pertanto estremamente piacevole. La tesi di fondo dell'autore sembra condivisibile. Quattro stelle (e non cinque) perché è più un racconto, che un libro scientifico, come forse ci si sarebbe aspettati da un accademico esperto del settore.