François Lévêque is a professor of economics at the Paris School of Mines, His research at the Centre for Industrial Economics (CEMA) focuses on the politics of competition, the regulation of network industries and intellectual property.
He is a founding partner of a major consulting firm specializing in competition.
In France, competition has a bad name. It is considered Darwinian and is said to draw individuals and businesses into a deadly form of rivalry, insinuating itself into all aspects of life (work, family, etc.). It has a reputation for undermining age-old ties of solidarity, mechanisms of cooperation and safety nets. This book does not approach competition from a normative standpoint and even les so from a moral standpoint. It concentrates exclusively on the rivalry among businesses, attempting to explain how this rivalry works. Citing famous duels (Coke/Pepsi, Apple/Google) or less well-known episodes from the economic war (the uberisation of the razor, etc.), he explores current changes in competition, particularly the destruction of traditional industries as they fall under the axe of innovation.
In the final analysis, when it comes to competition, who are the winners? Society, consumers as a whole or only a few businesses? This is the question the author attempts to answer, in ways both subtle and concrete.