20 October 2014
The argument against Amazon seems to rest on the proposition that if trad-pubs aren't awarded excess returns, over and above the actual free-market value of their products, then there will be no money to pay authors to write "serious literature," irreparably harming our culture and society.
This is really a very dense proposition with all kinds of unstated and unanalyzed assumptions behind it. It would take a lengthy and complex essay to thoroughly deconstruct all these notions, and few would have the patience to read it. But it's worthwhile to quickly review some of the main issues.