The Myth of Capitalism

The Myth of Capitalism tells the story of how America has gone from an open, competitive marketplace to an economy where a few very powerful companies dominate key industries that affect our daily lives. Digital monopolies like Google, Facebook and Amazon act as gatekeepers to the digital world. Amazon is capturing almost all online shopping dollars. We have the illusion of choice, but for most critical decisions, we have only one or two companies, when it comes to high speed Internet, health insurance, medical care, mortgage title insurance, social networks, Internet searches, or even consumer goods like toothpaste. Every day, the average American transfers a little of their pay check to monopolists and oligopolists. The solution is vigorous anti-trust enforcement to return America to a period where competition created higher economic growth, more jobs, higher wages and a level playing field for all. The Myth of Capitalism is the story of industrial concentration, but it matters to everyone, because the stakes could not be higher. It tackles the big questions of: why is the US becoming a more unequal society, why is economic growth anemic despite trillions of dollars of federal debt and money printing, why the number of start-ups has declined, and why are workers losing out.

Foreword xiii Matt Stoller Introduction xix Chapter One: Where Buffett and Silicon Valley Billionaires Agree 1 Chapter Two: Dividing Up the Turf 21 Chapter Three: What Monopolies and King Kong Have in Common 35 Chapter Four: Squeezing the Worker 63 Chapter Five: Silicon Valley Throws Some Shade 87 Chapter Six: Toll Roads and Robber Barons 111 Chapter Seven: What Trusts and Nazis Had in Common 139 Chapter Eight: Regulation and Chemotherapy 169 Chapter Nine: Morganizing America 197 Chapter Ten: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle 213 Conclusion: Economic and Political Freedom 235 Notes 251 Acknowledgments 287 About the Authors 289 Index 291