Referencing Barry Lynnâs piece in Harperâs this week called âKilling the Competition: How the New Monopolies Are Destroying Open Markets,â the Authorâs Guild explained: âMr. Lynn makes the case that Amazonâs dominance isnât just a story of an industry disrupted by online commerce and digital upheaval, itâs about the abandoning of New Deal era protections of retailers in 1975 (promoted by backers as a means to fight inflation, says Mr. Lynn) and what he portrays as a shift in 1981 in the Justice Departmentâs interpretation of antitrust law based on âChicago Schoolâ theories of efficiency and consumer welfare.â
Framing the rise of Amazon as a failure of government is a new one on me. The Guild goes on to claim that while Amazon is great for already established authors, it does a great disservice to new authors, announcing that "Literary diversity is at risk.â This is a very interesting charge, and one that could be easily proven (or disproven) as we move into the second decade of Amazon's dominance over the publishing industry.