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Competition is Killing Us: How Big Business is Harming Our Society and Planet - and What To Do About It
We live in the age of big companies where rising levels of power are concentrated in the hands of a few. Yet no government or organisation has the power to regulate these titans and hold them to account. We need big companies to share their power and we, the people of the world, need to reclaim it.
In Competition is Killing Us, top business and competition lawyer Michelle Meagher establishes a new framework to control capitalism from the inside in order to make it work for the many and not just the few.
Meagher has spent years campaigning against these multi-billion and trillion dollar mammoths that dominate the market and prioritise shareholder profits over all else; leading to extreme wealth inequality, inhumane conditions for workers and relentless pressure on the environment.
In this revolutionary book, she introduces her wholly-achievable alternative; a fair and comprehensive competition law that limits unfair mergers, enforces accountability and redistributes power through stakeholder governance.
In Competition is Killing Us, top business and competition lawyer Michelle Meagher establishes a new framework to control capitalism from the inside in order to make it work for the many and not just the few.
Meagher has spent years campaigning against these multi-billion and trillion dollar mammoths that dominate the market and prioritise shareholder profits over all else; leading to extreme wealth inequality, inhumane conditions for workers and relentless pressure on the environment.
In this revolutionary book, she introduces her wholly-achievable alternative; a fair and comprehensive competition law that limits unfair mergers, enforces accountability and redistributes power through stakeholder governance.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published September 10, 2020
12 people are currently reading
432 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 18, 2020
Of the increasing wave of anti-capitalism, pro-antitrust, books hitting the market (and that I expect will increase with the wave of anti-trust sentiment that seems de rigeur at this time), I found this one easily digestible, with enough history of corporate law in US and Europe to give some interesting perspective. Solutions are prescribed, though I don't know enough about whether they are all feasible. Regardless the ideas are thought provoking and will cause readers to examine their presumptions about how corporations work.
January 9, 2023
Infuriating, thorough and utterly informative. As a total leftist, I was unduly surprised to hear how counter to democracy lots of these ideas are given the historicity of neoliberalism! Michelle Meagher is a thinker to be followed!! Lost a star because it does get hard to follow sometimes and might benefit from some diagrams or simplified metaphors as a layman without a university education. Sent here from the Change Makers Podcast!
November 29, 2025
Meagher worked as a competition lawyer for one of the biggest law firms in the world before seeing the light. That light arrived at a dark moment in history: when the rana plaza building in Bangladesh, from which family member originate, collapsed and killed thousand of already exploited workers. It was a wake-up call for her to understand that softly taming capitalism doesn't work. The inherent competitive drivers underpinning capitalism are wreaking havoc and despair and they should be tackled head on.
She looks at this challenge from her area of expertise: antitrust law, which should be radically reformed in order to rein in the power and wealth accumulation of the world's rich and powerful. To do that, Meagher argues that we first need to debunk the 'myths of competition' that underpin the cultural acceptance of the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of the few. That much is true, in everyday political discourse, it is anathema to contradict the dogma of competition.
To any critic of capitalism, these myths will be familiar: that free markets are competitive, that companies compete to respond to societal needs, that they are benign and that we all benefit from maximising shareholder value. Less familiar are the myths that their power is already controlled by antitrust and that the law requires companies to maximize financial value for shareholders. The narrative feels like a journey that Meagher herself experienced as she discovered they are all smoke and mirrors that were actively enshrined in law, not as a natural law but as a political act by certain people and business interests.
Meagher tells a good story, but as always the solutions should be of most interest. The general gist of these are good, but they lack specifics to start implementing them tomorrow. What stands out most is her insight on antitrust, not surprisingly. Antitrust authorities today invoke the power to stop mergers when these would affect consumer prices in the short term, not when they lead to an accumulation and concentration of monopoly power. Indeed, the recent mergers and acquisitions in food, tech and communications and so many other industries have proven that monopolies are no longer seen as problematic as such. Only when they lead to immediate price hikes. That's a mistake.
Meagher argues for stakeholder antitrust to bust the economic and political power of companies. This means concretely to provide companies with a large range of societal responsibilities (not just a fiduciary duty to maximise shareholder value) as a return for the gift and privilege of incorporation. It also means providing room for stakeholder participation and control over company decision making -- as is already happening in cooperative businesses. It should also mean regulation of corporate power directly, and even stipulating that incorporation can be annulled if that power grows too big.
That is the main take-away of this book, and in the era of techbroligarchs ruling the world, it should be part of every political programme around the world.
She looks at this challenge from her area of expertise: antitrust law, which should be radically reformed in order to rein in the power and wealth accumulation of the world's rich and powerful. To do that, Meagher argues that we first need to debunk the 'myths of competition' that underpin the cultural acceptance of the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of the few. That much is true, in everyday political discourse, it is anathema to contradict the dogma of competition.
To any critic of capitalism, these myths will be familiar: that free markets are competitive, that companies compete to respond to societal needs, that they are benign and that we all benefit from maximising shareholder value. Less familiar are the myths that their power is already controlled by antitrust and that the law requires companies to maximize financial value for shareholders. The narrative feels like a journey that Meagher herself experienced as she discovered they are all smoke and mirrors that were actively enshrined in law, not as a natural law but as a political act by certain people and business interests.
Meagher tells a good story, but as always the solutions should be of most interest. The general gist of these are good, but they lack specifics to start implementing them tomorrow. What stands out most is her insight on antitrust, not surprisingly. Antitrust authorities today invoke the power to stop mergers when these would affect consumer prices in the short term, not when they lead to an accumulation and concentration of monopoly power. Indeed, the recent mergers and acquisitions in food, tech and communications and so many other industries have proven that monopolies are no longer seen as problematic as such. Only when they lead to immediate price hikes. That's a mistake.
Meagher argues for stakeholder antitrust to bust the economic and political power of companies. This means concretely to provide companies with a large range of societal responsibilities (not just a fiduciary duty to maximise shareholder value) as a return for the gift and privilege of incorporation. It also means providing room for stakeholder participation and control over company decision making -- as is already happening in cooperative businesses. It should also mean regulation of corporate power directly, and even stipulating that incorporation can be annulled if that power grows too big.
That is the main take-away of this book, and in the era of techbroligarchs ruling the world, it should be part of every political programme around the world.
February 28, 2024
Competition is Killing Us: A Critique of the Free Market Narrative
Michelle Meagher's book challenges the traditional understanding of competition and free markets.
A. Debunking Myths: Meagher, a lawyer specializing in competition law, argues that the current economic system is not as competitive as it claims. She identifies six key misconceptions about competition and free markets that have led to unfair practices.
B. Unequal playing field: Meagher observes that markets are becoming increasingly concentrated, with a few powerful companies dominating each industry. This contradicts the idea that new players can easily challenge established ones in a truly competitive market.
C. Free market failures: Meagher argues that lax regulations and the pursuit of constant economic growth have allowed corporations to prioritize shareholder profits over public interest. This has resulted in negative social and environmental consequences like pollution and climate change.
D. Unsustainable costs: Meagher emphasizes that the public ultimately bears the burden of these corporate practices through pollution, social issues, and environmental degradation.
E. Profit vs. Public Good: Meagher criticizes the free market's focus on maximizing shareholder value at the expense of the public good. The gains go to corporations and shareholders, while the costs are borne by consumers and society as a whole.
F. A Needed Reform: Meagher proposes a new competition law that holds companies accountable. This would involve limiting mergers, punishing rule-breaking, and empowering stakeholders through corporate governance.
Meagher's book argues for a systemic change in how we approach competition and free markets, placing a greater emphasis on public welfare and sustainability.
Michelle Meagher's book challenges the traditional understanding of competition and free markets.
A. Debunking Myths: Meagher, a lawyer specializing in competition law, argues that the current economic system is not as competitive as it claims. She identifies six key misconceptions about competition and free markets that have led to unfair practices.
B. Unequal playing field: Meagher observes that markets are becoming increasingly concentrated, with a few powerful companies dominating each industry. This contradicts the idea that new players can easily challenge established ones in a truly competitive market.
C. Free market failures: Meagher argues that lax regulations and the pursuit of constant economic growth have allowed corporations to prioritize shareholder profits over public interest. This has resulted in negative social and environmental consequences like pollution and climate change.
D. Unsustainable costs: Meagher emphasizes that the public ultimately bears the burden of these corporate practices through pollution, social issues, and environmental degradation.
E. Profit vs. Public Good: Meagher criticizes the free market's focus on maximizing shareholder value at the expense of the public good. The gains go to corporations and shareholders, while the costs are borne by consumers and society as a whole.
F. A Needed Reform: Meagher proposes a new competition law that holds companies accountable. This would involve limiting mergers, punishing rule-breaking, and empowering stakeholders through corporate governance.
Meagher's book argues for a systemic change in how we approach competition and free markets, placing a greater emphasis on public welfare and sustainability.
November 18, 2020
Fun to read and well researched. There are clear criticisms and an original proposal. You don't have to fully agree (I don't) to enjoy it.
December 29, 2020
Although the idea behind this book is quite interesting, the language writer uses makes it very hard to follow. Book contains many repetitions, this makes it hard to focus and enjoy.
October 31, 2022
An easy to read and comprehensive manifesto that challenges what we’re taught in economics. It argues from a specific ethics standpoint which is very much at the forefront of current discussions about the free market.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews