Christopher L. Hedges's Blog, page 3

Today’s Trophy Culture

Bryant Gumble featured a piece on the dangerous impact that the United States’ trophy culture can have on society. I love watching Real Sports with Bryant Gumble because the show always seems to find stories with major real world concerns told through the telephoto lens of sports. If it’s not the dangers of passing out trophies, it’s the price of glory in Qatar, or gun culture. I don’t always agree with Bryant’s position, but I respect what he has to say.

So I was a little disappointed in the traumatic trophy situation when Bryant took a push, and said he didn’t really have an opinion on the matter at the end of the piece. Over the last decade or so in order to ensure we don’t fracture the fragile self esteem of youth in America we have begun passing out awards for just participating.

Personally I think this initiative to save a child’s self esteem is nature’s way of trying to bring life back into balance. I know I have watched enough YouTube videos of parents attacking referees, berating coaches and demeaning children to see how destructive our competitive culture can get.

Competition isn’t something that ends when you walk off the playing field. In a competitive culture competition is everywhere. With a limited supply of open seats in every year’s freshman class to a top university, and with demand exceeding each seat by as much as 100:1 competition can be fierce. When we foster extreme competition is it any wonder that kids are willing to cheat on tests, pay for papers or do whatever it takes to get an edge on the competition?

Cheating on mid terms may seem like a minor problem, but it is just a precursor of things to come. Excessive competition eventually leads to an ends justifies the means philosophy. When an athlete is competing for an eight or possibly nine figure payday he needs that little edge, morals and ethics may be shelved and performance enhancers may become the solution. In the business world you have to meet a bottom line to make a bonus, and you manipulate the reporting of data to get paid. A-Rod and Arthur Anderson respectively.

The problem really is that the left issued a radical reaction to the right’s competitive code. Neither side is right or wrong. The complacency resulting from the left’s trophy world and the corruption derived from the right’s overly competitive climate throw off the balance society needs. In either scenario the results become exponential after a generation or two until you have someone looking to make a drastic change to re-balance things.

The truth is that either scenario could work provided that the children were being educated about the opposite point of view at home, and that is where the flaw in the system is. I can personally live with and work around either extreme, but if I was forced to choose I’d take the competitive code. Competition produces productivity and trophy town leads to complacency; in my opinion productivity is preferred.

 

 © Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Does Bestseller Equal Quality

I read a blog post recently that talked about the importance of winning awards and making it to bestseller lists for indie authors. If I was still green around this ears to this reality called writing I think I would have said, “Sure that’s got to be right.” After a year or two feeling my way around the industry I don’t put too much emphasis on awards and bestsellers anymore.

I began to shrug my shoulders at bestseller lists after I learned the creative ways that people became bestsellers. First there were books that listed themselves as Amazon Bestsellers. The interesting thing about being an Amazon Bestseller is that, based on highly specific categorization, bestsellers might only be competing with a dozen books for the title. I also discovered another tactic authors use to make the Amazon Bestseller List. An extremely aggressive book launch is orchestrated. Tons of copies are given away in order to land reviews prior to a book’s release date. Then for a brief period of time the book is sold at a significant discount to entice massive sales during that specific time frame. If all goes to plan at the end of the book launch the author has a “Bestseller” on their hands.

I now find the idea of the bestseller to be insulting to the intelligence of prospective readers. Bestseller lists used to be a sign of quality. If you created quality work then people were willing to spend the money to see what you had to say, and if enough people cared then you made the bestseller list. However, when an author is not simply capable, but is willing to discount his work to less than the value of a candy bar simply  to call himself a bestselling author in perpetuity I have to scream foul. I scream foul because said author hasn’t written a bestseller. Said author has simply found a way to manipulate the system. Manipulating the system isn’t a monopoly that began with creative authors who found a loophole in Amazon’s system. The original manipulation began with publishers who had bottomless budgets, and their bankrolls determined the winners and losers.

Then there’s awards and competitions. I entered Average Joe’s Story Quest for Confidence in one competition and it wound up being the runner up in the nonfiction category. I think there were fifteen to twenty entries in the category. All I could do was shrug because in judging creativity the value is subjective to the eye of the beholder. If you are being judged by someone who’s influenced by name dropping and your writing is void of celebrities, chances are you stand on shaky ground if your competition is writing about the nights he spent partying with the Rolling Stones.

Bestseller lists can be manipulated and awards are based on someone’s opinion, and yet we let these flawed systems of quality prediction influence our decision making. I hope Average Joe’s Story never makes a bestseller list or wins an award. I don’t ever want to think that the reason someone chose to read it was because of something as trivial as the word bestseller.

 

 © Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

#Lexus Lost my Business Over $950

I commented on a LinkedIn post a long time ago where the poster asked something to the effect of, ” Do you think Apple can survive without Steve Jobs driving the company?” The poster’s question was asked based on what might seem to be an insignificant change, the questions asked in hiring interviews. The comments I read attacked the poster. The comments that I read quoted quarterly sales, market share, current product lines, etc. The funny thing is the Apple enthusiast commenters didn’t address the question asked. They were predicting Apple’s future success based on Steve Jobs’ accomplishments.

My reply was different. I said something along the lines of, “We might not see any change in the immediate future, but I believe there is a strong possibility Apple could suffer in the long run without Jobs at Apple’s wheel. Apple’s success is based on innovation, and that is based on human capital. If HR has decided to move away from the creativity it once applied in its selection process, then chances are the employees hired will be different from the employees that built Apple into a dominant brand. It goes without saying that this minor change in culture could create massive waves that negatively impact Apple’s dominant position in the market place, but only time will tell.”

I don’t work there, but I’m willing to bet my lunch money that there is a different corporate culture without Jobs running the show, and that’s bound to impact the brand’s image. Image is a funny thing. It takes a lot to build the image you want the public to associate with you, and almost anything can shatter it. Shattered image is why I’ll most likely never be a Lexus customer again.

I recently had to take my 2008 Lexus RX350 to the mechanic, unexpectedly. My engine experienced catastrophic failure. I was going to lunch with a friend when we heard a rumble and rattle followed by a little smoke coming from the engine. I ended up pulling into my mechanics shop just as my front dashboard started lighting up like the Fourth of July, oil pressure warning, skid control warning, and every other possible warning light was flickering on and off at varying rates. Thankfully I was less than two miles away by purely dumb luck. Boris came out to take a look at the car, and then brought me in to fill out the intake form.

Car Repair Invoice

Boris called me four days later. He apologized for taking so long to get back with me, but there was a long line of work ahead of me, starting with the white Lamborghini Diablo that was in the bay the day I dropped my car off. Boris said he found and fixed the problem, but there was a cluncking sound that concerned him. He wanted to open the bottom of the engine up to make sure there was no internal damage that would lead to greater problems.

Defective Part

I got to pick my car up just before the weekend, with the bill. My little mechanical meltdown cost me $1,701.04. “Chris this is what I changed. This connects your oil to your engine. There is a hole right here, and while the car was running it pumped out all the oil. I replaced this piece of $h!t plastic connection with an all metal connection, you’ll never experience this problem again.”

When I got home and was filing away my RX350 mortgage payment with the rest of my car’s maintenance records I came across some documentation that I received from Lexus Division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA Inc. for the Warranty Enhancement Notification – ZLC. Basically the notification stated that there was a known defect and as a result there was a warranty enhancement to cover the issue. In fact the issue, the manufacturing defect, must have been severe if Toyota went out of it’s way to create a warranty enhancement dealing specifically with it.

Warranty Enhancement Notification – ZLC

So I took that document to Boris and asked him, “Is this what you fixed?” “Chris why didn’t you bring this to me before I worked on the car? Yes this is the piece I replaced.”

Well had I known that a factory defect was the root of my engine blowing up I would have brought the paperwork. Personally I was just excited at the possibility of recuperating the cost of an unplanned mechanical disaster.

I contacted Lexus’ corporate headquarters and whomever I spoke to answered some preliminary questions, and gave me the right 1-800 number to call when Monday rolled around. When I called the 1-800 number the customer service rep I spoke to gave me all the information I needed to provide in order to get my claim processed. Within 30 seconds of hanging up the customer service rep had called me back. There had recently been a change in procedure and the fax and email information he provided was incorrect. He apologized profusely while giving me the correct information. That’s where my experience began to careen downhill.

After faxing in my claim paperwork it was between two or three weeks before I got a letter stating that the information I provided was insufficient to process my claim. Are you telling me that someone couldn’t have gotten on the phone and called the cell phone number that was included to say, “Just so you know, you provided an invoice signed and indicated as paid by your mechanic, but we need a canceled check or bank statement.”

Thanks for doing as little as humanly possibly.

I had my bank track down my check, but what would have happened if I paid cash? My mechanic doesn’t have letter head, but he signed and indicated paid on his invoice, rubber stamping it for good measure. Is this a case of your mechanic doesn’t have letterhead so you don’t get reimbursed?

After all of the teeth grinding and hair pulling I finally received my reimbursement check from Lexus. I wish I could say I was excited after opening the envelope.

After being short changed slightly more than $950 I drove the 22 miles to my nearest Lexus dealership to ask the service technicians a few questions.

Q: “If you had replaced this defective part, filled the car with oil, and there was a strange clunking noise coming from the engine when you took the car out for a test drive would you have returned the car to the customer without investigating the source of the clunking?”

A: “Absolutely not.”

Q: “So if you had pulled the bottom of the motor off, like my mechanic did, to check the engine parts that my mechanic checked, would my total out of pocket expenses have been reimbursed?”

A: “Well our techs would know what to listen for so they might not open it up, but if we had to check for damage that would be covered….”

What I learned from Lexus was that customers who act decisively to protect their four wheeled investments are punished by Lexus for not using the Lexus system, even when the cause of the problem is derived from a manufacturing defect. Unfortunately my personal mechanics acumen rivals that of the average teenage girl. Damn this looks bad is the extent of my technical proficiency. Had I known, when my engine blew up while driving to lunch, that Lexus would have picked up the entire bill I would have had Lexus drive the 25 miles to pick up my car, and tow it to their service center. I didn’t. I used my personal mechanic who doesn’t price gauge me like dealerships have in the past, so I’m taxed $950 by Lexus.

Lexus was Toyota’s venture into the premium market, but like any efficient corporation they employ economies of scale. That basically means that when ever possible Toyota lowers its cost structure by using the same factories, designs, and in this case defective parts to build vehicles for both Toyota and Lexus. People flock to Lexus for its quality and service. As far as I’m concerned Lexus sold that reputation for $950. Some bean counter spent a dollar to save a penny. That bean counter saved $950 on a reimbursement claim for a known defect and as a result in 18-24 months when I’m in the market for a new car they have no chance whatsoever of putting me into a new RX350 at $43,000 to $60,000 depending on options. All I can say is brilliant strategic decision Mr Bean Counter.

 

 © Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Learning’s Great, but Eventually You Need to Become a Doer

You can spend a lifetime learning. In fact you can go to the same event on a yearly basis and learn something new everytime you show up because every year is a unique experience. However, there comes a point in time when you have to shift your primary emphasis from learning to doing.

I pasted something to a Facebook group not too long ago with the purpose of organizing a few local authors, that share the same publisher, to work together to run a booth at a local book festival. The idea was to put the booth under the name of the publisher’s name so that we could lower the cost per author. One of my good friends told me she wanted to go, but she was considering flying out to Los Angeles to attend an industry conference she’s already been to on several occasions. Besides going to an event that’s total cost is significantly greater to attend, my friend Patty would be foregoing sales revenue to attend an event on the pretense that she might learn something new. Personally I don’t believe enough new material will be provided to justify skipping a local book festival.

Funny enough this really is common place behavior for authors. Patty doesn’t shy away from sales opportunities, but some authors I know would willingly stand in front of a firing squad before willingly interact with the public. So for most people conflicting events provides a rational justification for avoidance. Avoidance can become a dangerous defense mechanism to success, if left unchecked. If you refuse to ever confront the things that make you uncomfortable you’ll suffer a fate worse than failure, avoidance leads to mediocrity and irrelevance. Don’t confine yourself to a life of mediocrity, be a Doer!

 

 © Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Success or Failure can be an Internet Search Away

I heard Dorie Clark, the author of Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future, talking about how she first started blogging for the Harvard Business Review. Dorie said she was selling her bike online, and the woman who eventually bought it did an internet search, to make sure Dorie wasn’t scamming her. Bike Buyer Lady found out that Dorie was a blogger, and mentioned to Dorie that she wrote for the Harvard Business Review. With an editor intro offer from Bike Buyer Lady and a little persistence on Dorie’s part, Dorie became a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review.

Dorie’s story about writing for the Harvard Business Review actually jogged my memory about the first time I’m aware of someone doing an internet search on my name. I wanted to interview the principal of a private school in South Florida for what I was hoping would be my second book project. Before I even got the eventual rejection email I got a call to play twenty question from the school’s legal counsel. After my inquisitor was satisfied that I wasn’t the person she thought I was, Legal then forwarded on my request to the powers that be for rejection under the proper context.

It’s stories like Dorie’s that amaze me as to how reckless people are with the most valuable asset they have, their image. I’m astonished at the fact that people still don’t take into account the permanency of the internet when making decisions. If you hit send or share there’s no take backs. If you send someone a picture or video you better be prepared to live with it forever, just ask any celebrity whose personal accounts have been hacked.

We live in a day and age where privacy pirouettes on its tightrope extinction line and the digital revolution has created a permanent transcript of all recordable data. Presently this may not seem important to you. I know I didn’t heed the magnitude of this knowledge. I do now, and you will too when you are asking a TSA agent why you are on a no fly list, when your mortgage application is denied, or wondering why you didn’t get hired. Don’t hit share unless you are prepared to live with the consequences.

 

 © Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

A Look at Military History, Organizational Structure, and Leadership

Delta Force: A Memoir by the Founder of the U.S. Military’s Most Secretive Special-Operations Unit by Charlie A. Beckwith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I originally bought Charlie Beckwith’s memoir because I was doing research for some characters I was trying to create. In this regard the book wasn’t terribly helpful. The book focuses on Delta’s inception, dating back to when Colonel Beckwith first saw for its need after completing an exchange program with the British SAS, through Delta’s first mission in Iran in 1980.

Looking past my research needs at what the book offers a reader, this is a great read for certain people. For military historians or aficionados I think that it’s a must read. It gives the factual backstory and account of how a critical piece of America’s modern military was created. I see this as important information into how the process takes place. For example Delta’s formation is a microcosm of how the Air Force would have come about.

Outside the military arena I think this book is great reading for the business world and the general public.

I think any proponents of big government should be required, by law, to read Colonel Beckwith’s memoir to see and understand the frustration that comes with the failures of a cumbersome, top-heavy bureaucracy. If there was ever an account for the need to run in a lean and streamlined horizontal hierarchical structure it is made by Charlie.

It also serves as an interesting case study on leadership. In a time when I think true leadership is in short supply we could all learn a great deal from Colonel Bechwith. He was a risk taker that appeared to assume accountability for his mistakes and shortcomings; the political nature of the senior ranks of the military being one of his weaknesses. However, like any good leader Charlie learns from his mistakes and does his best not to repeat them.

This book may come off a little dry and blunt, but I think that’s because it reflects what I believe Charlie’s personality was like, candid. If you are willing to look at this as more than just the memoir of a military trailblazer I think you will find Colonel Charlie Beckwith’s accounts of the inception and creation of 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta (SFOD-D) to be a fascinating read.

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 © Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The Benefit of Selflessness

I walked into the house at around 11:30 pm to the sanity shattering incessant chirp of a smoke detector with a dead battery. When I dragged myself upstairs my sister was working on a one-off project for one of her fashion customers. So I asked her if she knew where the chirp of the Tell Tale Smoke Detector was coming from. “It’s in my room. So I’m going to sleep downstairs. I have to get a ladder out to change the battery and I don’t feel like doing it tonight, I’ll do it tomorrow.”

That piercing chirp could  be heard even when separated by two floors and two closed doors. CHIRP, every five seconds on the second. So I waited till my inconsiderate sibling staggered downstairs and locked herself in the quietest part of the house before breaking out the ladder, new battery and fixing that late night sleep inhibitor. At no point did my sister consider how her selfish attitude would impact any of the three other residents of the house.

Believe me, Queen All About Me’s decision to forgo changing that battery was not a heart stopping revelation. On two other occasions less than a month prior she said she was heading out and didn’t let anyone know where she was for five days, until she walked back in the front door. She never bothered to arrange for a dog sitter, or ask anyone to take care of her dog while she was gone. It was just a foregone conclusion that someone would cover for her irresponsibility and inconsideration, because obviously no one else in the house has a life.

Queen All About Me’s attitude doesn’t surprise me anymore, but the All About Me attitude that we have as a society I find very unnerving. Recently I saw a social media post of a professional acquaintance with whom I have gone to great length to support and keep apprised of sales and marketing opportunities. So I was more than a little disappointed to see the post on her social media platform stating she was participating at a local book festival that I hadn’t heard of, and she never reached out to see if I knew about it before the May 1st deadline.

Collectively, as a society, we’ve really bought into this idea of scarcity. There isn’t enough time in the day so I have to stay focused on me, exclusively. I’m not going to share this information with Jim because I might lose out on revenue if he makes a few sales. In the long run this selfish and self-absorbed attitude that derives from a scarcity mindset only hurts its master. Will I keep my colleague informed about new opportunities I see? Sure, but there’s a good chance I’ll take a lackadaisical attitude in delivering news compared to the proactive attitude I’d been employing.

Many hands make light work; that’s one of those snippets of wisdom that dates back to the great minds of antiquity, which my fellow scribe appears to discount to irrelevance. By working together we can accomplish amazing feats that could never be accomplished by individuals, but that requires shedding scarcity’s attitude of selfishness. It goes without saying that you can be extremely successful with a selfish attitude, but legendary success can only be attained through selflessness, by putting others before yourself. A selfless attitude won’t produce significant dividends in the short run, but I hope you choose the selfless attitude because in the long run your results could be epic.

 

 © Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Forsyth’s The Dogs of War, a Lesson in the Use of Detail

Dogs of War by Frederick Forsyth

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I bought The Dogs of War on the recommendation of another author, for research purposes. Forsyth is reputed to have amazing attention to detail, and this story of soldiers of fortune did not fail in that regard. The author that recommended this book said that he believed, that for The Dogs of War, Forsyth actually spent the better part of two years living with a group of mercenaries to do his research.

Reading the story I found myself searching the internet for possible events taking place in the timeframes that the author writes about after completing a chapter. I didn’t see an indication of this, but I feel that the book is based on actual events, that’s how authentic the story feels. I think there may also be a section in the book where the author wrote himself into the storyline, which I thought was a nice personal touch. Because Forsyth bases his books on general world events there was even a little overlap in The Dogs of War from The Day of The Jackal, just minor references to the OAS and historical figures, but an interesting tie in nonetheless.

I would recommend this book to writers of any genre that are looking to create authentic realities for their readers with their writing. Forsyth shows you how to include enough detail to build a world without slowing down the story. If you are trying to create interesting well layered stories that come together smoothly at the end The Dogs of War is also worth a read. If you are just a casual reader that is looking for a spy/action thriller type of read I think you will enjoy this book.

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 © Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

November 2016: A Tough Ticket to Beat

For the first time in nearly 15 years I’m actually excited for the presidential election. I was excited for my first election when I got to cast my first ballot, but I’ve been disappointed every election since then. Every election it’s been a bunch of professional ass kissing, self serving politicians that sellout the American people so they can line their pockets by serving the Lords of Corporate Feudalism. In 2012 I had a glimmer of hope until Herman Cain was forced out of the race courtesy of dirty politics.

After having watched Carly Fiorina give a campaign speech in New Hampshire that was rebroadcast on C-SPAN I found myself getting excited for a politician. Besides the fact that Carly is an exceptional candidate I was over the moon that there were two candidates that I believe are capable of reinvigorating America, Trump and Fiorina. Head to head I think Trump may be a better candidate. He and Carly boast similar professional achievements, but Trump is more recognizable and has a nearly limitless campaign war chest without asking for a single dollar. However, Carly Fiorina does bring some serious strengths to the table above and beyond the miraculous resurrection she performed at Hewlett-Packard during the worst economic period in three generations.

First she has the same advantage that helped get Obama elected back in 2008. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, the color of Obama’s skin was a strength that helped an otherwise under qualified first term United States Senator get elected. In this election the candidate’s sex may prove to be just as important as race was in 2008. The other advantage I think that Carly has is her presence. Unfortunately for Trump as the number of candidates is whittled down I think the abrasiveness of his candor, which is a part of his business success, may hurt him. I see Carly being the inverse of Trump, as the pool of candidates shrinks her amicable personality will become a strength. Carly communicates the exact same message as Trump, but she seems to do it without ruffling any feathers.

Fiorina/Carson come election day might be the strongest ticket the Republican Party has offered in over 30 years. Fiorina/Carson would have all the experience needed to be an exceptional leadership team. Better yet neither is a career politician or lawyer so an influx of new skill would finally grace the White House. Lastly the true strength of the ticket would be the appeal it has not simply with the Republican base, but with traditional Democratic voters as well.

I honestly didn’t know too much about Carly Fiorina two weeks ago. I’ve read up on her since seeing that presidential campaign speech in New Hampshire because whether or not Trump or Fiorina is elected President in 2016 may determine if America has any hope for a brighter tomorrow.

 

 © Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The Amazonian Death Star vs The Free Market System

I reposted a blog about Amazon censoring legitimate customer reviews because Amazon deemed the vendor and the buyer to be “friends”, and I included a comment of how I was going back to using only brick and mortar distribution points. A friend of mine defended Amazon as being a great option because of their cut throat prices, and said “It may be unfortunate and lop sided in terms of competition, but in this country that kind of power is what rules the economy.”

The Amazonian Death Star

My friend’s statement got me thinking about our economy, and our current state of affairs. Our economy is capitalistic, which basically means Average Joes like you and me own companies and make profits in lieu of the government. However, my friend is actually wrong in his statement. “Our”, the American economy was designed to be a Free Market. A Free Market is an economic system in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition between privately owned businesses. Putting all competition out of business thus controlling the market is not a Free Market, it’s Corporate Feudalism.

Big box retailers killed small business. You can’t find an independent book store because Barnes & Noble has made them an endangered species. You can’t find a butcher, baker or candle stick maker because grocery store chains have exterminated them. So over the last couple decades small business has been destroyed by large corporate entities. This reduces the number of options that we have as consumers. The problem with reducing options is that those whom survive the attrition can then determine what prices are going to be, not the Free Market. If you’re in a small town with only one gas station and the owner says the cost of gas is $4.23, that’s the price. However, if there are three gas stations trying to sell you gas in the same town the cost of gas might only be $2.75. With the one gas station monopoly there’s price gauging, and with with three stations competing for your business you’ll pay a reasonable price for gas.

Now let’s look at the Amazonian Death Star. Yes, according to the Free Market philosophy Jeff Bezos has done nothing wrong, but let’s investigate Amazon’s potential. Amazon has opened up the door for countless individuals to become their own company, peddling their wares to hundreds of millions of consumers. On the flip side more and more points of sale have permanently shuttered their doors. Given enough time Amazon could hold a distribution monopoly by eliminating all of its competitors. That would mean that if sellers wanted to stand a chance of making a living they would be required to abide by any draconian policy issued by the Amazonian Death Star. What happens when the senior executives don’t agree with your politics, or your lifestyle choices? Then at their whim you could be blocked from using Amazon as a point of sale, all but killing your business. In fact Amazon could tell Morgan James Publishing they weren’t going to carry Average Joe’s Story: Quest for Confidence simply because I chose to stand up against their draconian review policy. With no other points of distribution Amazon could also dictate your sales terms, a tactic that was originally perfected by Wal-Mart. “If you want Billy Bob’s Country Cookbook listed on Amazon it’s going to cost you 20%, or your inventory can sit and rot.”

You might be saying, “I’m not a vendor so none of that applies to me.” It’s true you may not be a vendor, but with the Amazonian Death Star eradicating its competition, and killing the Free Market in the process, you may want to pay attention. Chances are you work for someone, and when they are impacted by Amazon you’re eventually going to feel it. If Amazon told Carly’s Creation’s that they were no longer going to carry her products that would set off a chain reaction. Things might run smoothly for a while, but if sales dropped too sharply, inevitably at least for the short term, Carly would have to downsize and that means workers losing their jobs. If you were lucky enough to survive the downsizing and the sales trend didn’t rebound over time, Carly might have to cut you to a part time worker. If things remain the same eventually you will be looking for a new job because Carly will just call it quits. It’s okay because you can always go to work for Amazon in one of their massive distribution centers. You’ll have to take a sizable pay cut and work for minimum wage. The growing unemployment problem means the supply of workers far exceeds the number of job vacancies.

This scenario won’t unfold overnight, and the free market may even try to fight back. However, Amazon may have already reached a point of critical mass. It may take two or three more decades, but Amazon capturing over 90% market share in any field it chooses to enter isn’t outside the scope of possibility. So to my friend, in this country we have ever so gradually regressed to the year 1776, a year when men and women said enough was enough. The true Free Market System that is supposed to rule this economy has given way to Corporate Feudalism, a new take on a timeless classic. As history repeats itself I think Amazon is on the verge of it’s own revolution. This will not be fought on colonial battlefields by red coats, blue coats and militias with bayonets and black powder muskets. It will be fought by companies refusing to use Amazon as a point of sale, buyers recognizing that the expense of Amazon’s lowest price mentality and convenience are too steep, and by techies that are disgusted by the draconian tactics employed by the elite of the Corporate Feudal System. I just hope that I’m around long enough to see history repeat itself.

 

 © Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christopher L. Hedges and AverageJoesStory.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.