A concise yet century-spanning exploration of the power of platforms, what the future of capitalism will look like, and how to build economies that provide equality and lasting prosperity.

In every society, there has been an essential platform—a central marketplace—where people come to buy, sell, and make their living. While each culture and era are distinct, all have such a platform to serve as the beating heart of the economy. Over most of human history, these platforms have been public and physical: city centers, ports, shopping streets, and stock markets. Today, however, these arenas are more sophisticated, largely privatized, and virtual: they are digital, accessible anywhere, and anchored by the Internet itself. The way these platforms operate determines how the economy works, who it benefits and fails, and how society functions.

Now, Tim Wu—the preeminent legal scholar who coined the phrase “net neutrality”—explores what these platforms tell us about our worlds, and why it is so crucial that they are fair and equal. Platform Capitalism is a sweeping look into the systems we have used for centuries—from the ancient city square to the computer operating system—and reveals what our economies, societies, and life itself will look like in the future.