The Bigness Complex

Industry, Labor, and Government in the American Economy, Second Edition

By: Walter Adams, James W. Brock

Write A Review

Paperback | 1 January 1986 | Edition Number 2

At a Glance

Paperback
400 Pages

Edition Type
Revised

Dimensions(cm)
22.9 x 15.2

Paperback

$70.75

or 4 interest-free payments of $17.69 with

or

Ships in 10 to 15 business days

The Bigness Complex confronts head-on the myth that organizational giantism leads to economic efficiency and well-being in the modern age. On the contrary, it demonstrates how bigness undermines our economic productivity and progress, endangers our democratic freedoms, and exacerbates our economic problems and challenges.

This new edition has a thoroughly updated variety of issues, examples, and new developments, including government bailouts of the airline industry; regulation of biotechnology; the fiasco of recent electricity deregulation; and mergers and consolidations in oil, radio, and grocery retailing. The analysis is framed in the timeless context of American distrust of concentrations of power. The authors show how both the left and the right fail to address the central problem of power in formulating their diagnoses and recommendations. The book concludes with an alternative public philosophy as a viable guidepost for public policy toward business in a free-enterprise democracy.

Industry Reviews

"Adams and Brock demolish the view that equates size and efficiency and expose how special interests distort public policy for the purpose of corporate welfare." - Douglas Irwin, Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College "Economics can't properly be separated from politics, because economic power translates directly into political power. At a time in our nation's history when wealth is more concentrated than at any time since the Gilded Age, The Bigness Complex is enormously helpful for understanding what's wrong and what's needed to put it right. Anyone who cares about the future of American capitalism and democracy should read this book and take to heart its message." - Robert B. Reich, Former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Hexter Professor of Social and Economic Policy, Brandeis University "This book brings the full, dramatic weight of mainstream economic research against the excesses and follies - and the dangers - of businesses that are simply too big. As Adams and Brock show, corporate obesity has cut efficiency, reduced innovation, and eroded the fairness of American society." - William G. Shepherd, Professor Emeritus of Economics, University of Massachusetts

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $79.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.

Defective items

If there is a problem with any of the items received for your order then the Booktopia Customer Care team is ready to assist you.

For more info please visit our Help Centre.

More in Economic Systems & Structures

Technofeudalism

What Killed Capitalism

Paperback

RRP $26.99

$22.99

15%
OFF

Humankind

A Hopeful History â" from the presenter of the 2025 BBC âMoral Revolutionâ Reith lectures

Paperback

RRP $26.99

$23.75

12%
OFF

The Law of Capitalism and How to Transform It

Hardcover

RRP $61.95

$50.75

18%
OFF

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism : The Rise of Disaster Capitalism The - Naomi Klein

$35.75

21%
OFF

The Deficit Myth

Modern Monetary Theory and How to Build a Better Economy

Paperback

RRP $24.99

$21.75

13%
OFF

Enshittification

Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It

Hardcover

RRP $44.99

$35.75

21%
OFF

The Road to Serfdom

Routledge Classics

Paperback

RRP $29.99

$26.75

11%
OFF

The New Racial Regime

Recalibrations of White Supremacy

Paperback

RRP $45.95

$35.99

22%
OFF

Capitalism

A Global History

Hardcover

RRP $125.00

$90.75

27%
OFF

Liberal Fascisms : iek's Essays - Slavoj Zizek

$31.75

21%
OFF

Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Hardcover

RRP $70.95

$52.99

25%
OFF

Capital

Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1

Hardcover

RRP $59.99

$47.75

20%
OFF

Hayek's Bastards

The Neoliberal Roots of the Populist Right

Hardcover

RRP $55.00

$42.75

22%
OFF

Vulture Capitalism : How to Survive in an Age of Corporate Greed - Grace Blakeley

$22.99

15%
OFF

SYSTEMology : Create time, reduce errors and scale your profits with proven business systems - David Jenyns

$22.99

15%
OFF

Capital

Volume I

Paperback

RRP $39.99

$31.75

21%
OFF

Escape From Capitalism

Economics is Political, and Other Liberating Truths

Hardcover

RRP $55.00

$46.75

15%
OFF

Discrimination and Disparities

Hardcover

RRP $55.00

$42.75

22%
OFF

I, Millennial (Signed Copies While Stocks Last)

One Snowflake's Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires and Everything Else

Paperback

RRP $32.99

$25.75

22%
OFF

List of Tables and Charts	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
The Problem of Power	p. 1
Power and Public Policy	p. 3
Economists and Power	p. 11
The Apologetics of Power	p. 23
Operating Efficiency	p. 29
Innovation Efficiency	p. 46
Social Efficiency	p. 63
The Political Economy of Power: A Historical Perspective	p. 77
The Revolution of 1776: American Government	p. 79
The Revolution of 1776: British Economic Policy	p. 88
Competition and the Control of Power	p. 95
The Role of Antitrust	p. 97
Cartels	p. 105
Monopoly	p. 123
The Merger Problem	p. 144
Horizontal Mergers and Joint Ventures	p. 153
Vertical Mergers	p. 164
Conglomerate Mergers	p. 174
The Limitations of Antitrust	p. 184
Government Intervention and Private Power	p. 201
The Regulation of Power	p. 203
Airlines: Regulation and Deregulation	p. 209
The Limits of Deregulation	p. 222
The Protection of Power	p. 237
The Bailout of Power	p. 253
The Coalescence of Power	p. 269
The Labor-Industrial Complex	p. 272
The "Sports-Industrial" Complex	p. 284
Public Policy Alternatives	p. 299
The Neo-Darwinist Vision	p. 301
The Neoliberal Vision	p. 308
A Public Philosophy	p. 316
Notes	p. 327
Index	p. 379
Table of Contents provided by Rittenhouse. All Rights Reserved.

The Bigness Complex

Industry, Labor, and Government in the American Economy, Second Edition

At a Glance

Paperback

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

More in Economic Systems & Structures

Technofeudalism

What Killed Capitalism

Humankind

A Hopeful History â" from the presenter of the 2025 BBC âMoral Revolutionâ Reith lectures

The Law of Capitalism and How to Transform It

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism

The Rise of Disaster Capitalism The

Social Justice Fallacies

The Deficit Myth

Modern Monetary Theory and How to Build a Better Economy

Enshittification

Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It

The Road to Serfdom

Routledge Classics

The New Racial Regime

Recalibrations of White Supremacy

Capitalism

A Global History

Liberal Fascisms

iek's Essays

Rocket Fuel

One Essential Combination That Will Get You More of What You Want from Your Business

Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Capital

Critique of Political Economy, Volume 1

Hayek's Bastards

The Neoliberal Roots of the Populist Right

Vulture Capitalism

How to Survive in an Age of Corporate Greed

Understanding Capitalism

Democracy at Work

The Rise and Fall of Australia

How a Great Nation Lost it's Way

SYSTEMology

Create time, reduce errors and scale your profits with proven business systems

The Wealth of Nations

Books I - III

Capital

Volume I

Escape From Capitalism

Economics is Political, and Other Liberating Truths

Discrimination and Disparities

I, Millennial (Signed Copies While Stocks Last)

One Snowflake's Screed Against Boomers, Billionaires and Everything Else

This product is categorised by

iek's Essays