Quote:
Originally Posted by tompe
What was the propaganda? Was the facts about accumulation of power and comparision with historical examples wrong do you mean?
|
The comparison between Amazon and Standard Oil for example is pure hyperbole. Standard oil, in 1904, controlled 91% of production and 81% of final sales. By 1911 they were broken up for anti-trust violations. Amazon has not been charged with
any anti-trust violations.
Here's more on Standard Oil (from Wikipedia).
Quote:
|
The federal Commissioner of Corporations studied Standard's operations from the period of 1904 to 1906[29] and concluded that "beyond question... the dominant position of the Standard Oil Co. in the refining industry was due to unfair practices—to abuse of the control of pipe-lines, to railroad discriminations, and to unfair methods of competition in the sale of the refined petroleum products".
|
And ...
Quote:
|
"Almost everywhere the rates from the shipping points used exclusively, or almost exclusively, by the Standard are relatively lower than the rates from the shipping points of its competitors. Rates have been made low to let the Standard into markets, or they have been made high to keep its competitors out of markets. Trifling differences in distances are made an excuse for large differences in rates favorable to the Standard Oil Co., while large differences in distances are ignored where they are against the Standard. Sometimes connecting roads prorate on oil—that is, make through rates which are lower than the combination of local rates; sometimes they refuse to prorate; but in either case the result of their policy is to favor the Standard Oil Co. Different methods are used in different places and under different conditions, but the net result is that from Maine to California the general arrangement of open rates on petroleum oil is such as to give the Standard an unreasonable advantage over its competitors"
|
Put the Big Six (Five) Publishers in place of the Railroads and put Apple in place of Standard Oil and you've got a much closer comparison than any comparison to Amazon.
Oh, maybe that's why the Big Six (Five?) and Apple were charged with anti-trust violations and Amazon wasn't?