Our economy is based on capitalist ideals. Or is it?

We live in a capitalist society. Ideally, that means we enjoy a free market economy based on private ownership and competitive supply and demand.

But what happens if the competition part falls away? If Amazon accounted for 44 percent of all U.S. e-commerce last year, who can compete with that?

Your guides in answering that and other questions are Jonathan Tepper and Denise Hearn, the authors of “The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition.” They were joined in discussing the themes of their new book by the following panelists:

• Nicole Vallestero Keenan-Lai, executive director of Puget Sound Sage
• Nick Hanauer, co-founder and partner in the venture capital firm Second Avenue Partners
• Economist and author John Perkins
• Rachel Lauter, executive director of Working Washington and the Fair Work Center.

Some of the potentially obscure concepts discussed: Homo Economicus, predatory capitalism, monopsony, rational oligopoly and “sexy new anti-trust attorneys.”

This event was presented by Town Hall Seattle and The Collective. It took place at The Collective’s South Lake Union event space on November 29. KUOW’s Sonya Harris recorded the conversation.

Please note: This recording contains unedited language of an adult nature.

Listen to the full versions below: