The Curse of Bigness

Outline

The Curse of Bigness (2018) warns that giant corporations have become too powerful and that this concentration of economic power threatens competition, innovation, and democracy. Tim Wu revisits the history of antitrust laws, which were created to break up monopolies, and explains how their weakening allowed a few companies to dominate entire industries. He calls for renewed efforts to protect fair competition.

• Giant corporations have become too powerful, and that concentration of economic power threatens competition, innovation, and democracy.
• Antitrust laws were created to break up monopolies, and their history shows why they mattered.
• As antitrust laws were weakened, a few companies came to dominate entire industries.
• Tim Wu calls for renewed efforts to protect fair competition.

Tim Wu is an American legal scholar and professor at Columbia Law School who writes about technology, media, and competition. He is known for coining the term net neutrality and has served as an adviser on technology and competition policy in the U.S. government. His books include The Master Switch, The Attention Merchants, and The Curse of Bigness.