Traditional grocers and retailers are in a state of shock over what tech giant, Amazon proposed acquisition of Whole Foods might portend for their businesses. Economist Joseph Schumpeter’s characterization of capitalism as ‘the perennial gale of creative destruction’ seems to fit.
Amazon acquisition of Whole Foods underscores the threat posed by ‘big data’
While this process may be thought inevitable by anyone who believes in the virtues of free markets. However, it is also true that the increasing economic power of big technology firms represents a new and serious threat to the civil liberties.
Government’s real service
Government’s real service is not in the regulation of economic activity, which is often seems to be counterproductive; but it is in its guarantee of rights as codified in the Bill of Rights that are accorded every citizen regardless of economic status.
The Internet abets bigness and monopoly
It is pretty true that the Internet abets bigness and monopoly. It can presumably be said that the fantastic efficiencies of scale concentrate market share in a handful of few technology companies, and even creates vast wealth for their founders and executives.
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Yes, ordinary people do participate in the bonanza by buying shares in public companies; however, management remains in the hands of a small tribe of tech plutocrats, who in turn view the world in much the same way.
Buying Washington Post
In 2013, before setting sights on Whole Foods, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos had bought the Washington Post for $250 million.
The Post can boast of its role in taking down Richard Nixon. Thr Republicans have claimed that the Post was out to get Nixon, and that was certainly true also, but the reporting by Woodward and Bernstein adhered to the basic rules of responsible journalism.
Now, the Post’s thinly sourced stories resemble more what is found on the Internet. Bezos’ newspaper seeks nothing less than the destruction of Trump’s presidency.
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Date: June 28, 2017