When inflation spiked after the COVID crisis, neoliberal economists defended corporate price hikes, attributing them to demand or cost increases. Mainstream media followed, ignoring soaring profits and new pricing techniques. Isabella Weber's suggestion of price controls was mocked by Paul Krugman.

Lindsay Owens, author of "Gouged: The End of a Fair Price," broke through with a viral tweet and New York Times essay, listening to earnings calls where executives admitted to raising prices. Her white paper on Instacart showed 75 percent of identical baskets varied in price, prompting an FTC investigation and Instacart disavowing surveillance tech.

Owens's book details how pricing is manipulated by profit-hungry corporations, challenging economists who defend personalized pricing as third-degree discrimination. She argues it's first-degree, where benefits don't carry over, and notes many economists are wrong.

Owens's work exposes the normalization of gouging, urging readers to question the invisible hand narrative and recognize real-world pricing predation.