Cheap Books, Scarce Attention

Even as technology has made classic books cheaper and easier to access (cheap ebooks, libraries, affordable hardcovers), overall reading can fall because attention is finite and new platforms create an ever‑growing pool of competing content. Blaming publishing industry structure for lower reading overlooks the demand‑side problem: abundance and time scarcity reshape cultural consumption. — This reframes debates about cultural decline and policy responses (e.g., subsidies, publishing reform, censorship) away from supply‑side fixes toward attention, platform design, and time‑use interventions.