The Curse of Bigness

Antitrust in the New Gilded Age (Columbia Global Reports)

By: Tim Wu

Narrated by: Marc Cashman

Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's summary

From the man who coined the term "net neutrality", author of The Master Switch and The Attention Merchants, 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 20th century.

In The Curse of Bigness, Columbia Professor Tim Wu tells of 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 trust-busting age as part of a broader revival of American progressive ideas as we confront the fallout of persistent and extreme economic inequality.

©2018 Tim Wu (P)2018 Random House Audio

Interesting and informative

I tend to agree that the best government is the least government, but the arguments Wu presents here, while not without bias, are certainly worthy of consideration. I am glad I listened.

Essential Info for Preserving Democracy

Extremely informative and actionable information about the threat and management of monopoly and the gradual subversion of anti-trust law.

Shallow and pointless

Not original. The first chapter was interesting, but afterwards the book was shallow. I want my money back.

Trust busting for the 21st Century

great primer on trust busting from the 1890s - 2010s. Prof Wu provides a foundation to re-imagine the current economic and political situation existing in much of the world. May his thoughts reach those who can take the power back

Incredible and concise

The book covers a lot of ground, does so persuasively, and doesnt feel like he leaves huge gaps, and does so in an incredibly short amount of time. A must read.