Comments on: The Amazonian Theory of Moral Sentiments http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/the-amazonian-theory-of-moral-sentiments/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:55:20 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: alex s. http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/the-amazonian-theory-of-moral-sentiments/comment-page-1/#comment-1149152 alex s. Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:56:47 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=32107#comment-1149152 Mr. Radcliffe thanks for the feedback. Adam Smith proposed a revolutionary new form of economics at the time. A radical departure from Mercantilism in that it was actually predicated on fairness as opposed to all out exploitation. Amazon is a relatively kind company. This present day definition of kindness being of course measured against its major competitors. Take for instance Sony -or Barnes and Nobles- who doesn't even provide a mechanism for users to address issues that they are facing with their devices, let alone afford them a chance to review books to the degree that Amazon tolerates. Amazon is a monopoly no argument on that from me, but it should be also be viewed as a market within a market. Odd concept but bear with me, this is the same type of model that we see in such new age businesses as Google, E-bay, Scribd, and Lulu to name a few. In which the main company acts as an intermediary thus lowering the cost of entry to enter business. The self published authors on its site earn substantial margins without being denied the chance to sell their works because an older monopoly-publishers-denied them the chance.Companies like Amazon may be fulfilling Smith's vision by making anyone a possible businessman. Mr. Radcliffe thanks for the feedback. Adam Smith proposed a revolutionary new form of economics at the time. A radical departure from Mercantilism in that it was actually predicated on fairness as opposed to all out exploitation. Amazon is a relatively kind company. This present day definition of kindness being of course measured against its major competitors. Take for instance Sony -or Barnes and Nobles- who doesn’t even provide a mechanism for users to address issues that they are facing with their devices, let alone afford them a chance to review books to the degree that Amazon tolerates. Amazon is a monopoly no argument on that from me, but it should be also be viewed as a market within a market. Odd concept but bear with me, this is the same type of model that we see in such new age businesses as Google, E-bay, Scribd, and Lulu to name a few. In which the main company acts as an intermediary thus lowering the cost of entry to enter business. The self published authors on its site earn substantial margins without being denied the chance to sell their works because an older monopoly-publishers-denied them the chance.Companies like Amazon may be fulfilling Smith’s vision by making anyone a possible businessman.

]]> By: Leon Wolfeson http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/the-amazonian-theory-of-moral-sentiments/comment-page-1/#comment-1149136 Leon Wolfeson Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:02:20 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=32107#comment-1149136 Ebay's a great comparison. They screw you over SO badly, at every possible step. The latest one is killing off entire catagories by mandating free shipping. Ebay’s a great comparison.

They screw you over SO badly, at every possible step. The latest one is killing off entire catagories by mandating free shipping.

]]> By: Mitch Ratcliffe http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/the-amazonian-theory-of-moral-sentiments/comment-page-1/#comment-1149129 Mitch Ratcliffe Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:23:09 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=32107#comment-1149129 With all due respect, Adam Smith did not "propose a purely free market," nor was he an advocate of capitalism. He was a theorist who offered propositions about why the markets that described why they worked the way they did in his time. Moreover, he was a critic of unrestrained free markets, as evidenced by his parable of the pin factory, which cautions against what he saw as an inevitable tendency toward monopoly. He felt that in order for markets to produce an optimum outcome there must be many competitors, not a a few. His Theory of Moral Sentiments tries to find in morality an innate restraint on greed, which he acknowledges in The Wealth of Nations may need to be addressed in the case of rising monopolies by government or other intervention to maintain competition and ensure optimum social outcomes. Amazon's losses on best-selling e-books incurred today must be understood as a down payment on a market share that it intends to exploit in the future, which would not necessarily be good for consumers. Adam Smith would not have assumed it was a good thing, DTP, which is sort of a drop-in tail on your argument, notwithstanding. With all due respect, Adam Smith did not “propose a purely free market,” nor was he an advocate of capitalism. He was a theorist who offered propositions about why the markets that described why they worked the way they did in his time. Moreover, he was a critic of unrestrained free markets, as evidenced by his parable of the pin factory, which cautions against what he saw as an inevitable tendency toward monopoly. He felt that in order for markets to produce an optimum outcome there must be many competitors, not a a few. His Theory of Moral Sentiments tries to find in morality an innate restraint on greed, which he acknowledges in The Wealth of Nations may need to be addressed in the case of rising monopolies by government or other intervention to maintain competition and ensure optimum social outcomes.

Amazon’s losses on best-selling e-books incurred today must be understood as a down payment on a market share that it intends to exploit in the future, which would not necessarily be good for consumers. Adam Smith would not have assumed it was a good thing, DTP, which is sort of a drop-in tail on your argument, notwithstanding.

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