Curse of Bigness (LEAD)

‘Timely and important.’ — Joseph E. Stiglitz ‘Tim Wu helps shape an urgent new global conversation.’ — Shoshana Zuboff 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 ‘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.