The Curse of Bigness

Bestselling author of The Master Switch and The Attention Merchants, Tim Wu warns that the current corporate concentration in the global economy is threatening our economic and political future. We live in an age of extreme corporate concentration, with industries dominated by a few behemoths—banks, pharmaceutical companies, and tech companies among them. But concern over what Louis Brandeis called the curse of bigness can no longer remain the province of specialist lawyers and economists: it has spilled over into politics and even threatens democracy itself. History suggests that tolerance of inequality and failing to control excessive corporate power may prompt the rise of populism, nationalism, extremist politicians—even fascist regimes. In short, as Wu warns, we are in grave danger of repeating the signature errors of the twentieth century.