The Curse of Bigness

By Tim Wu

From the man who coined the term “net neutrality” comes a warning about the dangers of excessive corporate and industrial concentration for our economic and political future. In an age of extreme corporate concentration, global industries are controlled by just a few giants—big banks, big pharma, and big tech, just to name a few. History suggests that tolerance of inequality and failing to control excessive corporate power may prompt the rise of populism, nationalism, extremist politicians, and fascist regimes. Tim Wu, Julius Silver Professor of Law, Science and Technology, describes how Louis Brandeis and Theodore Roosevelt confronted the democratic threats posed by the great trusts of the Gilded Age and calls for a broader revival of American progressive ideas.