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the referenced article from Yale Law Journal is very interesting - and discuss amazon in context of anti-trust laws, what is wrong with those laws and some solu
by andyidsinga 8y ago
the referenced article from Yale Law Journal is very interesting - and discuss amazon in context of anti-trust laws, what is wrong with those laws and some solutions.
snip snip ( https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-paradox https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/amazons-antitrust-parado... )
"in some ways, the story of Amazon’s sustained and growing dominance is also the story of changes in our antitrust laws. Due to a change in legal thinking and practice in the 1970s and 1980s, antitrust law now assesses competition largely with an eye to the short-term interests of consumers, not producers or the health of the market as a whole; antitrust doctrine views low consumer prices, alone, to be evidence of sound competition. By this measure, Amazon has excelled; it has evaded government scrutiny in part through fervently devoting its business strategy and rhetoric to reducing prices for consumers. Amazon’s closest encounter with antitrust authorities was when the Justice Department sued other companies for teaming up against Amazon.23 It is as if Bezos charted the company’s growth by first drawing a map of antitrust laws, and then devising routes to smoothly bypass them. With its missionary zeal for consumers, Amazon has marched toward monopoly by singing the tune of contemporary antitrust."
- mgiannopoulos 8y agoThis makes me want to buy some Amazon stock. :)
- glup 8y agoThis attitude makes me want to prosecute shareholders :)
- HarryHirsch 8y agoIt is as if Bezos charted the company’s growth by first drawing a map of antitrust laws, and then devising routes to smoothly bypass them What if that statement was correct? Bezos comes from D.E. Shaw, and it's known that the old sphinx takes the long view.
- andyidsinga 8y agoThat's quote is certainly alluring - My initial reaction was similar. On further thought, based on my experience working with general managers/executives, I suspect they were following their noses more than making any elaborate plans. A big advantage they had (and continue to have), was being embedded in a data rich software/online context AND the organizational drive to use it to their advantage.
- charleslmunger 8y agoI mean... Isn't this exactly what is desired? "Bezos looked at things that violated the law, and then didn't do them". That's exactly why the laws exist - to deter anticompetitive behavior, not to punish success.
- andyidsinga 8y ago> Isn't this exactly what is desired? Well - its not so much about that, but more about what Bezos et al were looking at. The Yale law article is critical of a change in thinking that may have enabled the outcomes of amazon's behaviors : "Due to a change in legal thinking and practice in the 1970s and 1980s" (edit typos)