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> Unlike banks, Amazon is now simply too big to fail. A generation ago, you could have said that about Microsoft. Somebody can indeed force them to "fix their

> Unlike banks, Amazon is now simply too big to fail. A generation ago, you could have said that about Microsoft. Somebody can indeed force them to "fix their shit" -- government. ...and they will. You can already see some ripples on the pond. Watch out, though, because the government can have a heavy hand and often the cure is worse than the disease.

awakeasleep 7y ago
In my opinion it's not that the government has a 'heavy hand' but that Amazon pumps enough money into the system to suborn any regulation that'll eventually occur. You can bet they already have drafts of laws that'll suit them just fine while making it impossible for smaller players to compete.
marcosdumay 7y ago
Well, wake me up when Microsoft get to fix their shit.
- vnorilo 7y ago
  You may not like MS products, but I think their capability to seek rent is much, much lower than the antitrust days. The story looks like the competition did it instead of regulation, but who knows if an undeterred, ruthless Microsoft would have fought back better and dirtier.
  - marcosdumay 7y ago
    > their capability to seek rent is much, much lower than the antitrust days Well, I do agree with that, with two large caveats: - their capability to seek rent is still enormous, they are still one of the most powerful companies in the world on that; - and I have no idea how much of that loss comes from government intervention and competition, instead of previous bad management.
- bluGill 7y ago
  Microsoft deserves a reputation for poor quality software, but they are at least 10x higher quality than just about everything else of similar complexity. Only software that can kill (medical and flight) is generally of higher quality.
adventured 7y ago
It was said to be true about Walmart just 15-20 years ago. When I was in high school in the 1990s, it was universally proclaimed that Walmart was a monster that would kill every retailer that was still standing. Nobody would survive. There was terrified breathless coverage in all media everytime they sneezed. If they went into a new town, people proclaimed all business in the town would instantly die, for nobody could compete with The Great & Terrifying Walmart. If they looked at other business segments (banking! pharmacy! gas stations! earth!), it was proclaimed that they would of course conquer that too. They were going to rule all commerce. Turned out to mostly be typical human drama, fear & pandering, media headline bait, and bullshit than anything else. The exact same will prove to be true in the case of Amazon, and it's extraordinarily obvious that will be the case.
- CPLX 7y ago
  Have you actually been to small and medium size towns? Those fears were realized.
TheRealPomax 7y ago
This is a common mistake: yes, the government stepped in to deal with Microsoft, but MS was nowhere near as diversified as Amazon is, and the government has done nothing truly of note to reign in Amazon. If you have the time, I'd love to hear more about the ripples on the pond, because the only thing I see governments look at right now is getting Amazon to pay more money for continuing to operate all its ventures, which it can _easily_ do if it were legislated into paying more than it does now.

awakeasleep 7y ago

In my opinion it's not that the government has a 'heavy hand' but that Amazon pumps enough money into the system to suborn any regulation that'll eventually occur. You can bet they already have drafts of laws that'll suit them just fine while making it impossible for smaller players to compete.

marcosdumay 7y ago

Well, wake me up when Microsoft get to fix their shit.

vnorilo 7y ago
You may not like MS products, but I think their capability to seek rent is much, much lower than the antitrust days. The story looks like the competition did it instead of regulation, but who knows if an undeterred, ruthless Microsoft would have fought back better and dirtier.
- marcosdumay 7y ago
  > their capability to seek rent is much, much lower than the antitrust days Well, I do agree with that, with two large caveats: - their capability to seek rent is still enormous, they are still one of the most powerful companies in the world on that; - and I have no idea how much of that loss comes from government intervention and competition, instead of previous bad management.
bluGill 7y ago
Microsoft deserves a reputation for poor quality software, but they are at least 10x higher quality than just about everything else of similar complexity. Only software that can kill (medical and flight) is generally of higher quality.

adventured 7y ago

It was said to be true about Walmart just 15-20 years ago. When I was in high school in the 1990s, it was universally proclaimed that Walmart was a monster that would kill every retailer that was still standing. Nobody would survive. There was terrified breathless coverage in all media everytime they sneezed. If they went into a new town, people proclaimed all business in the town would instantly die, for nobody could compete with The Great & Terrifying Walmart. If they looked at other business segments (banking! pharmacy! gas stations! earth!), it was proclaimed that they would of course conquer that too. They were going to rule all commerce. Turned out to mostly be typical human drama, fear & pandering, media headline bait, and bullshit than anything else. The exact same will prove to be true in the case of Amazon, and it's extraordinarily obvious that will be the case.

CPLX 7y ago
Have you actually been to small and medium size towns? Those fears were realized.

TheRealPomax 7y ago

This is a common mistake: yes, the government stepped in to deal with Microsoft, but MS was nowhere near as diversified as Amazon is, and the government has done nothing truly of note to reign in Amazon. If you have the time, I'd love to hear more about the ripples on the pond, because the only thing I see governments look at right now is getting Amazon to pay more money for continuing to operate all its ventures, which it can _easily_ do if it were legislated into paying more than it does now.