United States vs. Google
Most interesting part IMO is at the end (emphasis mine):<p>&gt; That, though, is why it is a mistake to read the report as some sort of technocratic document... it is exceptionally difficult to make the case that any of these companies are causing consumer harm, which is the de facto standard for antitrust in the United States. Indeed, what makes Google’s contention that “The competition is only a click away” so infuriating is the fact it is true.<p>&gt; What matters more is the context laid out by Letwin: there is a strain of political thought in America, independent of political party (although traditionally associated with Democrats), that is inherently <i>allergic to concentrated power — monopoly in the populist sense, if not the legal one.</i><p>&gt; <i>Hatred of monopoly is one of the oldest American political habits</i> and like most profound traditions, it consisted of an essentially permanent idea expressed differently at different times. “Monopoly”, as the word was used in America, meant at first a special legal privilege granted by the state; later it came more often to mean exclusive control that a few persons achieved by their own efforts; but it always meant some sort of unjustified power, especially one that raised obstacles to equality of opportunity.<p>&gt; <i>In other words, this subcommittee report is simply a new expression of an old idea; the details matter less than the fact it exists.</i><p>I think this reflects a lot of discourse I&#x27;ve seen on HN -- one commenter condemning Google&#x2F;Apple&#x2F;etc. for being a monopoly, and a second commenter observing the company doesn&#x27;t meet the legal standard of a monopoly, but it&#x27;s like both sides are talking past each other.<p>It&#x27;s because most people don&#x27;t actually care about the meaningful technical definition of a monopoly -- they just don&#x27;t like it when companies get too big, period. At the end of the day, it&#x27;s like there&#x27;s something inherently satisfying when the big guy gets knocked down, the idea that being big is bad <i>in and of itself</i>.<p>I think that&#x27;s a really valuable observation that Stratechery makes.