Amazon Refuses to Sell Book on COVID-Capitalism Connection

Make a tax deductible $25 contribution to oppose Amazon censorship and receive a free copy of  Capitalism on a Ventilator.

‘Capitalism on a Ventilator: The Impact of Covid-19 in China & the U.S.’ is a new anthology comparing the effective Chinese response to COVID-19 with the disastrous response in the U.S. It pushes back against the racist anti-China campaign in U.S. media. Amazon is currently censoring the distribution of this book. We need your support to distribute the book and fight back against censorship!

Due to the growing hostility of the U.S. establishment toward China and the accompanying surge in anti-Asian racism, it was an enormous challenge to find printing and distribution for this anthology, which includes many published authors including Ajamu Baraka, Monica Moorehead, Mumia Abu Jamal, Margaret Kimberley, Vijay Prishad, Lee Siu Hin, Sara Flounders, Carlos Martinez,  Kevin Zeese, Deirdre Griswold, Max Blumenthal and more.

The effort to place this challenging book on a large corporate website turned into a several month struggle with the world’s largest online bookseller – Amazon. Amazon Books claims ease of placement, best order fulfillment and lack of censorship, but failed to deliver.

Amazon’s block of this book is a clear example of U.S. corporate censorship. We were notified: “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. Amazon reserves the right to determine what content we offer according to our content guidelines. Your book does not comply with our guidelines. As a result, we are not offering your book for sale.”

The book’s table of contents and list of authors, along with four chapters, is available at https://wp.me/p4Yme1-404.
Readers are urged to break the ban on “Capitalism on a Ventilator” by sharing the link and your short reviews widely on social media. Maintain pressure against Amazon banning books with a left perspective by tweeting the Washington Post @JeffBezos.

Although Amazon claims it publishes only “official sources for advice” on the COVID-19 virus, Amazon has allowed books promoting wild conspiracy theories that the virus is exaggerated, a hoax or human-made and masks and quarantines are useless. During the pandemic Amazon has also listed products that are dangerous quack “cures” for COVID-19.

Hostility to China as national policy impacts every area of discussion. This is reflected in the trade war, sanctions and military operations, and by canceling educational and cultural exchanges and any attention or coverage on any level of China’s accomplishments. In retrospect, it is hardly surprising it extends to blocking books and topics of discussion.

Many important chapters in this anthology were written in March, April, and May of 2020 as the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S., and people were actively looking for answers and asking questions.

The questions working people worldwide started asking sent U.S. media outlets and private corporate platforms into a wall of censorship and political repression. Why has China done so much better in containing COVID-19 and saving lives? The answer corporate media gave was an onslaught of racist and imperialist attacks against China including claims of dishonesty, brutality and suppression of information. Several major news sources even went so far as to accuse China of manufacturing the virus. Any evidence contrary to the corporate narrative was thoroughly suppressed.

This book was written by people around the world and edited by a U.S. activist and a Chinese activist. The evidence and data available provide a very different answer from that given the corporate media. China contained the virus because their free medical care and planned economic system is science based and intensely cooperative. By every statistic, countries building socialism did far better in combating the virus — Cuba, China, Laos, Vietnam and North Korea, to name a few. We hope you read this book and explore the reasons why China and other countries building socialism did far better than the capitalist world did.