Michael Steeves reviewed Move fast and break things by Jonathan Taplin
Review of 'Move fast and break things' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Scattered, unfocused and ultimately very flawed.
Jonathan Taplin starts out documenting how artists and creative people have been getting the raw of the stick more and more, citing the example of the late Levon Helm who had to start performing again in his 70s while fighting cancer because the current digital era had seen his income from The Band's work cut to a trickle.
Most of the book focuses on the big three, Google, Facebook, and Amazon, and the way that a small group of people had managed to keep the game rigged in their favor to the point where they held monopoly (or near monopoly) positions. Unfortunately, the strength of those sections gets quickly overwhelmed by the myopic view that "in my day..." , combined with an inability to tie this into a broader cultural narrative.
Levon's tale, as tragic as it was, mirrors that of many Americans who …
Scattered, unfocused and ultimately very flawed.
Jonathan Taplin starts out documenting how artists and creative people have been getting the raw of the stick more and more, citing the example of the late Levon Helm who had to start performing again in his 70s while fighting cancer because the current digital era had seen his income from The Band's work cut to a trickle.
Most of the book focuses on the big three, Google, Facebook, and Amazon, and the way that a small group of people had managed to keep the game rigged in their favor to the point where they held monopoly (or near monopoly) positions. Unfortunately, the strength of those sections gets quickly overwhelmed by the myopic view that "in my day..." , combined with an inability to tie this into a broader cultural narrative.
Levon's tale, as tragic as it was, mirrors that of many Americans who find themselves forced into working well into their 70s because they have no choice in the matter. The Washington Post just today posted a piece documenting this. www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/10/18/for-many-older-americans-the-rat-race-is-over-but-the-inequality-isnt/?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-business2%3Ahomepage%2Fcard&utm_term=.dc94414e590d
While Taplin touched on Trump and the Kochs, he fails to show similar patterns in fights against the SPA or financial regulation.
He also spends time arguing against organizations like the EFF and their fights against copyright enforcement abuses. While artists certainly deserve to enjoy some measure of protection against their work, legislation allowing industry organizations to take people offline unilaterally are not even close to being an acceptable solution.
In the end, nothing really new or interesting.