A good friend of mine is CEO of a company that consults on international supply chain issues. He’s been in high demand since the pandemic first shut down businesses and travel across the globe. One of the most interesting things he explained to me is how complex it can be to manage the spider web of practical, technical, financial, security-related, political, and moral factors involved — especially when the “source” of a particular product is actually multiple sources, providing raw materials, manufactured components, assembly, packaging, and finishing.
This all came to mind yesterday, when I read that the Post Hill Press book which Simon and Schuster refused to distribute has now been shelved entirely. A break in the supply chain killed the entire product. In this case, choking off retail distribution of the book eventually stopped the book from even being published. Which I suspect was the goal all along.
When S&S first announced that – due to intense pressure from the cancel culture mob – they had decided to not distribute a book for one of their distribution clients, that client hoped to forge ahead nevertheless. Post Hill Press still intended to release “The Fight For Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy” by police officer Jonathan Mattingly.
But Mattingly has apparently decided to withdraw from his deal with Post Hill Press. According to multiple sources, his decision is tied to concerns over distribution. Said Mattingly: “I have decided it is best that I explore other publishing options for my book.”
Hm. What other options might those be? Senator Josh Hawley found another option (Regnery) when S&S canceled his book – but he’s a U.S. Senator, and he wasn’t attacking one of the sacred cows of the progressive Left.
Mattingly may find it much harder to find another publishing option. Even if he does, his book will now be delayed even further, making the subject less newsworthy and the Left’s narrative even more entrenched. Obstruction and delay are favorite tactics of the corrupt.
Meanwhile, the Left has learned a powerful lesson: disruption of the supply chain at any critical juncture can be an effective route to censorship. Even when there is an author willing to challenge the dominant narrative, even when there is a publisher willing to publish and promote the book, cutting off distribution can not only limit the book’s reach — it can kill the project entirely.
We’ve already seen retailers refuse to carry books that the woke protesters deem unsuitable. Perhaps next time it will be a printer who refuses to print the book. Right now there is a teapot tempest over the inclusion of Abigail Shrier’s book in a marketing package that went out to independent bookstores. Free copies, mind you, of Shrier’s book, meant to allow independent bookstores to have a look at the book and decide for themselves. Oh, no, that’s not to be tolerated. Intolerants howled, falsely calling the book “transphobic” and the American Booksellers Association (who run the monthly marketing program) rushed to grovel, apologize, and change their policies to – you guessed it – censor future mailings.
Everyone who values freedom of speech and the vigorous debate over ideas should be alarmed. Our supply chain is now complex and interdependent enough that one break in the chain can be fatal. Decisions that used to be practical, financial and technical are now overwhelmed by political and moral judgments that are very dangerous when controlled by an angry minority. Actually, they are dangerous when controlled by an angry majority. Ever hear of the French Revolution?
Alas, history is obsolete, and sadly most Americans neither know nor care about its lessons. They might learn to care when the cancel mob decides their viewpoint is inconvenient and disruptive — and should therefore be silenced. But by then, there will be no supply chain for books that challenge the status quo. It will be too late.