A review of Break ‘Em Up by Zephyr Teachout. Published in 2020 it’s a worthwhile addition to the growing anti-monopoly movement.
Book Review: Break ‘Em Up by Zephyr Teachout

A review of Break ‘Em Up by Zephyr Teachout. Published in 2020 it’s a worthwhile addition to the growing anti-monopoly movement.
Retailers not manufacturers control retail pricing. This wasn’t always the case. Learn how politics informed commerce and ultimately enabled Walmart.
G.E. was the definition of a conglomerate–and now it’s not. Learn what the corporate structure is, its’ strengths and weaknesses through a G.E. case study.
The uncomfortable reality is that from an operational standpoint, the last forty years created a meat production system almost uniquely positioned to spread the coronavirus and exaggerate its impact.
Dean Foods went from an industry leader to bankrupt in a few years. A Porter Analysis reveals that industry structure had a much larger impact than previously imagined.
Fair Trade agreements allowed small retailers to compete with big. Now they’re gone.
The Curse of Bigness by Tim Wu succinctly distills a generation of anti-monopoly research into one easily digestible volume.
Google, Amazon, and Facebook are modern-day railroads. The technology companies are three of the few organizations that own and control our modern infrastructure. Connor Dougherty published a nice look at how Google’s monopolist position impacts the businesses that rely on the infrastructure it owns. Like farmers and railroads before, web service providers like Yelp are effectively… Continue reading →
Foroohar’s book isn’t perfect–it goes on a bit long and only offers a few solutions—but it’s a well-meaning and well researched book on the modern economy.