Slowly but steadily are we learning the true cost of "cheap." Once never given a thought, now public outcry prompts merchants and manufacturers to concern themselves with child labor, unfair business practices, minimal environmental impact, safe working conditions - a free market balanced against oppression and waste. "Dolphin safe," "environmentally friendly," and "fair trade" labels have become so mainstream consumers hardly notice.

Perhaps too many still shop at thriving Walmart, despite its reputation for high-pressure tactics with suppliers and smaller, more community-conscious competitors; despite its exposed abuse of workers in Asian factories which supply so much of its merchandise. At least some shoppers have stopped or minimized their custom. At least we are more aware.

But awareness is of little use if we don't exercise our wallets more consciously.

Less known is the war being waged in publishing. I speak of Amazon - a seller I confess to using for specialty products unavailable locally and (head hanging) a few other items to get that free shipping. Don't misunderstand; Amazon is here to stay and is a functional part of the Internet age.

However, giants must be managed, as antitrust laws indicate, and consumers have a responsibility. To the world of free-flowing information - in which books are vital - there is a democratic societal cost beyond competing with bricks-and-mortar retailers. In the intimate relationship between writers and readers, this can take the form of subtle censorship via mass marketing - if we let it.

Hachette, a major publisher representative of the industry's common concerns, got fed up last spring. Not succumbing satisfactorily to Amazon's demands to further lower the prices of its authors' e-books, Amazon and its e-reading branch, Kindle, responded by marketing other writers and brands, offering discounts on similar books by other publishers and authors (thereby influencing buyers and driving up competitor sales). It made Hachette books harder to order (who keeps scrolling when the "lowest price" is on the first search page?) and successfully reduced Hachette's sales by 50 to 90 percent.

That'll teach 'em.

Such tactics had been used and threatened before, but it escalated with Hachette, which refused to bend. Beyond Hachette's public protest and pursuit of antitrust litigation, all major publishers are watching. Some are openly supportive, risking Amazon's reprisals with their own books. There is irony here; Amazon is accused of and vehemently denies antitrust law violations, yet in 2010 Amazon protested Apple's e-book prices with its own antitrust suit against Apple and five publishers (the case settled).

"This appears to be part of the greater 'race to the cheap' that has been playing out in many industries," said Melissa DeMotte, owner of The Well-Read Moose in Coeur d'Alene. "Single corporations that have secured a sizable part of the market begin flexing their muscles, demanding better deals and punishing vendors."

Authors are responding in brotherly force. Yes, the famous and more directly affected of Hachette's 2,500 authors, such as James Patterson and Malcolm Gladwell, have spoken against Amazon, but other authors have done the same regardless of which publishers they work with. They've formed "Authors United," a group including award-winning and popular authors such as Philip Roth, John Grisham, Salman Rushdie, and Anita Shreve. It also includes best-selling novelists who have spoken at the Idaho Humanities Council banquets, such as Spokane's own Jess Walter and Sara Paretsky. As the authors note in their letter to the Amazon board of directors:

"Amazon has every right to refuse to sell consumer goods in response to a pricing disagreement with a wholesaler. But books are not mere consumer goods. Books cannot be written more cheaply, nor can authors be outsourced to another country."

We may regret this neglect so easily remedied. Do we want to keep the ethical, community-involved, neighborhood shop owners and local employers alive? Places to browse, try products and read pages, even sip coffee and discuss politics somewhere other than computer terminals and loud restaurants?

Independent booksellers (who can order directly from publishers whatever isn't in-store) including Well-Read Moose have also banded together in support of Hachette. Used and rare booksellers, such as Browser's Books on Government Way, also may go the way of the dinosaur if we readers maintain our neglect. And some fresh air and exercise does a heart good, while supporting the writers, publishers, and booksellers who together help us exercise the mind.

Sholeh Patrick, J.D., fearful for the future of what was once a cornucopia of good books, remains a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at Sholeh@cdapress.com.