The Federal Trade Commission has filed a major lawsuit against Amazon, alleging that the online retail giant has conned consumers into enrolling in Amazon Prime, whose annual cost is $139.

As this segment of What’s Ahead explains, the action is preposterous. It’s actually a raw power grab, an example of modern socialism, whereby government doesn’t actually seize businesses, but instead controls them through extensive regulations.

Don’t buy the argument that the FTC is on the side of consumers here. Analysts at JP Morgan estimate that if you paid for all the Prime services separately, starting with free delivery, the cost would be $1,100 a year versus the charge of $139. That’s why subscribers to Prime now number well over 200 million, and new ones are signing on by the millions.

The FTC suit is all about control.