12 ms·

Her comments seem somewhat related to her book "The Dispossessed" which contrasts a capitalist world with a plausible anarchist/communist world.

slowmovintarget 12y ago
While she may speak with the authority of having written "The Dispossessed" (which is wonderfully good), her words seem to mostly be about Amazon. In that regard I think her comments miss the mark ("corporate fatwa" being the biggest silliness).
- the_af 12y ago
  In what way do they miss the mark? I have immense respect for both Ursula K. Le Guin's work and her ideology. Her comments seem pretty sensible to me.
  - slowmovintarget 12y ago
    I cannot speak to her ideology, as I've only read her novels and admired her amazing craftsmanship and care. For example, in "The Dispossessed" she crafts a point of rational observation of both extremes of capitalism and communism. I've not had the opportunity to read of or hear her own personal views. I think her remarks aimed at Amazon miss the mark. She said: "...We just saw a profiteer try to punish a publisher for disobedience and writers threatened by corporate fatwa, and I see a lot of us, the producers who write the books, and make the books, accepting this. Letting commodity profiteers sell us like deodorant, and tell us what to publish and what to write." Amazon was not "punishing disobedience", rather they are attempting to negotiate more favorable terms for literally all involved parties. (Amazon's historical data shows a lower price for e-books increases overall sales generating a higher profit for Amazon, for the publisher, and for the author.) To me, attempting to show an equivalence between Amazon's contractual negotiation with Hachette and religious pronouncements from Muslim clerics sounds a false note in an otherwise important statement.
- rquantz 12y ago
  I think you're wrong about them being mostly about amazon. She's talking about capitalism. Amazon is only a symptom.

slowmovintarget 12y ago

While she may speak with the authority of having written "The Dispossessed" (which is wonderfully good), her words seem to mostly be about Amazon. In that regard I think her comments miss the mark ("corporate fatwa" being the biggest silliness).

the_af 12y ago
In what way do they miss the mark? I have immense respect for both Ursula K. Le Guin's work and her ideology. Her comments seem pretty sensible to me.
- slowmovintarget 12y ago
  I cannot speak to her ideology, as I've only read her novels and admired her amazing craftsmanship and care. For example, in "The Dispossessed" she crafts a point of rational observation of both extremes of capitalism and communism. I've not had the opportunity to read of or hear her own personal views. I think her remarks aimed at Amazon miss the mark. She said: "...We just saw a profiteer try to punish a publisher for disobedience and writers threatened by corporate fatwa, and I see a lot of us, the producers who write the books, and make the books, accepting this. Letting commodity profiteers sell us like deodorant, and tell us what to publish and what to write." Amazon was not "punishing disobedience", rather they are attempting to negotiate more favorable terms for literally all involved parties. (Amazon's historical data shows a lower price for e-books increases overall sales generating a higher profit for Amazon, for the publisher, and for the author.) To me, attempting to show an equivalence between Amazon's contractual negotiation with Hachette and religious pronouncements from Muslim clerics sounds a false note in an otherwise important statement.
rquantz 12y ago
I think you're wrong about them being mostly about amazon. She's talking about capitalism. Amazon is only a symptom.