Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Title
Toward an Inframarginal Revolution: Redistributing the Gains from Trade
Publication Date
9-2025
Abstract
Since the Reagan era, American economic policy has amounted to self-colonization. Democratic majorities have consistently supported legal regimes that have enabled corporations to extract the lion’s share of the gains from trade from the public. For example, they have supported a corporate law regime that denies the public democratic control over the behavior of corporations and instead gives dictatorial powers to shareholders and managers. The Internet has made it even easier for firms to extract surpluses from consumers through surveillance and algorithmic pricing. One small contribution toward a project of decolonizing the public would be for consumers to obtain a property right in their personal information. This would allow them to claw back some of the surpluses that technology has taken from them.
Recommended Citation
Greenwood DJH. Self-Colonization in American Law: The Internet and Personal Information Example. In: Woodcock RA, ed. Toward an Inframarginal Revolution: Redistributing the Gains from Trade. Cambridge University Press; 2025:231-297.