Book Club Event on 10/23/2021: Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly Power from Gilded to Digital Age by Amy Klobuchar

[Eugene]

Event is on October 23rd, 2021. 4pm EST.
Follow Meetup link to online event: https://www.meetup.com/Inquiry-Non-Fi...

This book was suggested by Lily

Pages to read: 334
ISBN: 9780525654896 (Originally listed edition)
ISBN: 9780525654902 (Edition I am Using)

While reading the book, consider the below questions:
•What is the raison d’etre of the book? For what purpose did the author write the book?
•What are trusts and monopolies?
•What is monopoly power?
•What is the importance of competition?
•How do laws impact monopoly power?
•Why do businesses want monopoly power?
•What limits antitrust laws?
•How did monopolies impact the formation of the USA?
•How did the monopolists of the 19th century wield their power?
•Who decided to fight trusts and monopolies?
•What limited the Sherman Act?
•Who were the trust breakers and why were they breaking trusts?
•What does it mean to be too big to succeed?
•What is the ‘Amazon Defense’?

Your questions are important and will take priority. If you have questions about the book's content or related ideas, either let me know what your questions are or raise them during the discussion.

My Review of the Book:
https://www.inquiryreviews.com/2021/0...

Upcoming event:
https://www.meetup.com/Inquiry-Non-Fi...

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Summary from Goodreads (Not full review, due to space):
Antitrust enforcement is one of the most pressing issues facing America today—and Amy Klobuchar, the widely respected senior senator from Minnesota, is leading the charge. This fascinating history of the antitrust movement shows us what led to the present moment and offers achievable solutions to prevent monopolies, promote business competition, and encourage innovation.

In a world where Google reportedly controls 90 percent of the search engine market and Big Pharma’s drug price hikes impact healthcare accessibility, monopolies can hurt consumers and cause marketplace stagnation. Klobuchar—the much-admired former candidate for president of the United States—argues for swift, sweeping reform in economic, legislative, social welfare, and human rights policies, and describes plans, ideas, and legislative proposals designed to strengthen antitrust laws and antitrust enforcement.

Klobuchar writes of the historic and current fights against monopolies in America, from Standard Oil and the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to the Progressive Era's trust-busters; from the breakup of Ma Bell (formerly the world's biggest company and largest private telephone system) to the pricing monopoly of Big Pharma and the future of the giant tech companies like Facebook, Amazon, and Google.

As the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, Klobuchar provides a fascinating exploration of antitrust in America and offers a way forward to protect all Americans from the dangers of curtailed competition, and from vast information gathering, through monopolies.