The Curse of Bigness : How Corporate Giants Came to Rule the World

From the man who coined the term "net neutrality," comes a warning about the dangers of excessive corporate and industrial concentration for our economic and political future.We live in an age of extreme corporate concentration, in which global industries are controlled by just a few giant firms―big banks, big pharma, and big tech, just to name a few. But concern over what Louis Brandeis called the "curse of bigness" can no longer remain the province of specialist lawyers and economists, for it has spilled over into policy and politics, even threatening democracy itself. History suggests that tolerance of inequality and failing to control excessive corporate power may prompt the rise of populism, nationalism, extremist politicians, and fascist regimes. In short, as Wu warns, we are in grave danger of repeating the signature errors of the twentieth century.In The Curse of Bigness, Tim Wu explains how figures like Brandeis and Theodore Roosevelt first confronted the democratic threats posed by the great trusts of the Gilded Age―but the lessons of the Progressive Era were forgotten in the last 40 years. He calls for recovering the lost tenets of the trustbusting age as part of a broader revival of American progressive ideas as we confront the fallout of persistent and extreme economic inequality. We're Three Decades Into A Global Experiment: What Happens When The Major Nations Of The World Weaken Their Control On The Size And Power Of Corporate Giants And Allow Unrestricted Expansion? In The Curse Of Bigness Tim Wu Exposes The Threats Monopolies Pose To Economic Stability And Social Freedom Around The World. Aided By The Globalization Of Commerce And Finance, In Recent Years, We Have Seen Takeovers Galore That Make A Mockery Of The Ideals Of Competition And Economic Freedom. Such Is The Reality Of The 'curse Of Bigness': Stifled Entrepreneurship, Stalled Productivity, Dominant Tech Giants Like Facebook And Google, And Fewer Choices For Consumers. Urgent And Persuasive, This Bold Manifesto Argues That We Need To Rediscover The Anti-monopoly Traditions That Brought Great Peace And Prosperity In The Past. An urgent and persuasive argument for why we must fight global monopolies to protect freedom and prosperity.