| Is capitalism reducing choice in books? |
| Written by Alex Singleton | |
| Tuesday, 17 April 2007 | |
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One of the criticisms of capitalism is that it has mostly destroyed small, local bookshops that stocked eclectic ranges of books backed up by knowledgeable staff. We are left with Asda Wal-Mart's pile-em-high, sell-em-cheap selection of best-sellers, or with big chain bookshops like Waterstones which all sell pretty much the same selection of books. I can't help thinking that these supposedly perfect bookshops that are small and local are being looked at through rose-tinted glasses. A few months ago I was sat in a BBC studio waiting for an interview to start and the presenter was opening his mail: it was a new book by Tim Waterstone. "Oh, it's a book by Tim Waterstone," commented the presenter, "who created a chain of big bookshops no one wants." Why are they so successful if no one wants them? The truth is that small bookshops often don't have the books you want to buy in stock. Consumers don't want to have to wait and come back a week or two later to pick up the book. Far from being bookshops no one wants, the Waterstone's chain provides consumers with easy access to a wide variety of books. By stocking a huge selection of titles, they've massively increased the range of books easily available. And with the rise of the internet, capitalism has made finding books we don't know about even easier. On Amazon, I'm shown recommended titles based on my past interests. When I look up Donald Trump's Think Like a Billionaire, it tells me that customers who bought that also bought books like Screw It, Let's Do It by Richard Branson. And while supermarkets like ASDA only sell a small number of best-sellers, that's good for consumers, too. Books from supermarkets are cheaply priced, and that leaves customers with more money to buy more books. It doesn't mean we can't go onto Amazon and look at a wider selection; it's just that the best, most popular books are available very conveniently. In short, capitalism's critics are wrong: the choice and affordability available today far surpass the past. Comments (0)
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