Businesses have the right to run their operations as they see fit. Unfortunately, government mandates often get in the way, telling the owners and managers what they must or must not do. Sellers still have the freedom to decide not to sell something, and Amazon has just exercised that freedom to forbid the sale of a new book by Swedish COVID specialist Dr. Sebastian Rushworth.
Dr. Rushworth is a critic of the overreaction to COVID, and his book presents his arguments. But Amazon has said that it won’t sell his book, as we read here.
Amazon’s explanation? “Due to the rapidly changing nature of information around coronavirus, we are referring customers to official sources for advice about the prevention or treatment of the virus.”
So, readers are supposed to trust “official sources” and not consult others. That’s the way the Chinese government would like things. Why has Amazon decided to throw in completely with the forces of statism?
Again, if Amazon chooses to discriminate against books that its apparatchiks dislike, that is and should remain legal. But it shouldn’t be surprised if the statist forces it supports eventually boomerang and mandate what it must or must not sell.
Hat tip: Don Boudreaux