Anti-Monopoly

In a movement-defining book, the “godmother of the current moment of dissatisfaction with establishment politics” (The New York Times) tells the story of the rising anti-monopoly movement and charts a course to a democratic future

“Essential reading for anyone who’s outraged and ready to do something about it.” —Lina Khan, former chair, Federal Trade Commission

In a short, sharp political book, The Nation magazine’s “Anti-Monopolist” columnist and “a prophet of the resurgent left” (Franklin Foer) explains the battle between the forces of oligarchy and the rise of the new anti-monopoly movement. Using the stories of modern anti-monopoly heroes including Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan; grocer Anthony Pena, who turned his frustrations with big box stores into a new grocers movement; and Doha Mekki, a trailblazing lawyer who, with her team, developed the first successful criminal wage-fixing case for the Department of Justice; Teachout explains how anti-monopoly cuts across traditional political lines and gives real teeth to economic populism.

Teachout, a scholar of the law of democracy and a politician whose run for governor of New York State shocked the political establishment, argues that monopoly is the architecture of private tyranny, and that breaking corporate power is essential to building a new democracy. From AI to agriculture, healthcare to energy, Americans understand that corporate concentration doesn’t just cause inequality; it organizes power. Anti-Monopoly gives that feeling a name, a history, and a way forward.

After a spate of books out of the Abundance movement arguing that we need to remove local democracy and focus on efficiency at scale, this book provides a sharp counterpoint.