I always thought LeGuin was considerably overrated, but I didn’t think she was actually stupid until now:
“We just saw a profiteer try to punish a publisher for disobedience, and writers threatened by corporate fatwa,” LeGuin said. “And I see a lot of us, the producers, accepting this — letting commodity profiteers sell us like deodorant!”
She was referring to the recent dispute between Amazon and the publisher Hachette over e-book pricing. The power of capitalism can seem inescapable, LeGuin said, but resistance and change begin in art. And writers should demand their fair share of the proceeds from their work. “The name of our beautiful reward is not profit. Its name is freedom.”
Really? I always thought profit was the central point. I stand corrected. Let there be freedom! And I have to say, the cognitive dissonance inherent in simultaneously a) defending a mainstream publisher and b) demanding a fair share of the proceeds is impressive.
Although if Amazon were to actually adopt a policy of putting out fatwas on SFWA members, I suspect that’s something a lot of people could get behind.