This weekend I sat down with a warm cup of coffee and enjoyed one of those rare life pleasures which come around but so often, a great Frank Rich column. As many of you may already know he discussed the sophomoric stunt that Sarah Palin pulled at the recent Tea Party Convention: she wrote notes for a $100,000 speech on her hand. Rich’s overarching theme was that Democrats by focusing on Ms. Palin’s “handwriting” were missing the political “writing on the wall” and as a result being flanked by populist hypocrites. The parallels between this story and the chaotic state of power in the e-book publishing world are astonishing and ultimately reveal some things about the world that we live in. Rich’s portrayal of Republican actions is comedic at best and truly criminal at its worst. Power shifts seem to occur in our country’s political system without any sort of basis on actual facts and/or actions. Interestingly, this dynamic may be occurring as we speak in our own proverbial backyard as publishers have overpowered consumer inputs, with such an air of superiority that one wonders if consumer opinion even truly matters anymore. Advocates on behalf of such issues as removing DRM, allowing further integration of text to speech technology and equitable e-book pricing have been marginalized with such precision and speed that many are still attempting to recover the momentum that they had gained over the preceding months.
In almost a satiric turn of events the apologists for e-price gauging and consumer product limitation have begun to assail their opponents with “mucho gusto.” Their arguments –much like their compatriots the Tea baggers- is often based on emotion as opposed to reason. They mention that lower e-book prices will bankrupt publishers as if their mismanagement of traditional books has not already done so; they mention that the laws of supply and demand will impact e-book prices while not noticing the lack of price movement on sites with less vocal consumers than Amazon’s; they explain that authors will starve with lower e-book prices as if a majority of authors have become wealthy with today’s pricing model; they continue to equate price with quality even as Indie authors have proven the assertion foolish; and lastly they state that they will purchase a book at any price they see fit while not realizing that with DRM they are merely renting a license.
In an exercise that I have conducted with my High School students –to teach them the logic behind establishing a puppet government- I ask that a volunteer listen carefully and do as I ask. The oblivious volunteer will raise his hand believing that he is simply doing as I asked without noticing that I am controlling his motions, as a puppeteer does with a puppet. The exercise works because the participant believes that he or she has freedom of choice when in reality their actions state the opposite. I am not forcing them to do anything against their will but they are nonetheless unaware of my control over events.
Publishers and large corporations have been doing this to us as people on a much larger scale for way too long and one of the prevailing symptoms of this abusive relationship is the silly state of US politics. Another symptom is our relationship with media producers in the modern era, as companies establish prices and we sheepishly follow along. Not realizing or even caring that we are being taken to the banks needlessly, even when we are told by a heartless conglomerate such as Amazon about it. The apologists cite one of the most quoted and least read books –Adam Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations”- to buttress their arguments as they consistently undermine the very positions they believe they are defending. As I close out let me clearly state that I am not an economist but rather a reader who realizes that the next great economic tome is on the horizon. This book will shake our understanding of economics in ways that many people will be stunned by as it obliterates the notion of consumer price control in the digital era. Unfortunately, for us consumers in the interim, the writing is on the wall and it indicates a price we may be unwilling to pay.
Great post, Paul, although I do not necessarily agree with it. For an interesting update — albeit an indirect one — of Rich’s article, see today’s NYT article on the Tea Party.
Where publishers really sock it to the people (so to speak) is in school textbooks. It is an open secret that publishers design their textbooks (K-12) based on what Texas dictates, and in the TExas system facts do not matter as much as belief. There was an interesting article in Sunday’s NYT Magazine and, of course, the more thorough study done by Diane Ravitch in her book “The Language Police.”
Once again, Alejandro, I apologize. When I saw the article it listed Paul as the author.
Sorry, Alejandro. When I wrote my comment, Paul was listed as the author.
Rich, do not be sorry, it happens. Great idea on the co-ops hopefully it inspires a new literary business model. As it stands publishers have squandered any goodwill that they have with me. I meant to check up with you on the price elasticity issue. Every poll that I have come across indicates that consumers wholeheartedly agree with “9.99 and under” pricing. Ultimately, books and record albums appear to have a particular price niche. I will elaborate on my thoughts in a future op-ed.
This is the kind of column that gives teleread a bad name.
I liked the part where you told your students to do exactly as you say, and then you mock them for doing exactly as you said. Maybe it’s just the language barrier or something, but I really don’t understand the point of that exercise, unless you’re trying to convince students that they shouldn’t listen to teachers.
Density I appreciate your candid opinion but woul like to clarify somethings. I -as well as any other teacher- would never do anything to intentionally demean a student. The point that I am trying to convey is that we Americans tend to react emotionally without asking ourselves what exactly we are advocating. The exercise highlights the dichotomy of how a puppet ruler can be an individual and a part of something larger at the same time. Publishers and large corporations are benefiting greatly from the obsolete market dynamics that people are applying to digital products. The political overtones lay in how this resembles the short sighted actions of many of country’s most vocal critics.
“The point that I am trying to convey is that we Americans tend to react emotionally without asking ourselves what exactly we are advocating. ”
This is certainly true.
Cool! We agree on something. I apologize for my previous response’s atrocious grammar. Darn iPhone keyboard.