What is a greater threat to Publishers? Amazon or Piracy?

I am doing my management studies and am in my final year. As a part of which I have been given a task of comparing Amazon.com and privacy as to which one of them Is a greater threat to Publishers. I would explain it for a better understanding. The question is that which one among the both can be held responsible in case, the book publishing industry faces some kind of threat. I know it is a difficult thing to answer. But I have no other go as of now. I need maximum replies in this regard and want people to come up with contradicting solutions and answers to what I just asked. My marks are at stake and I expect you all to please help me in this go! So guys, come up with your mind sets on the issue and the wackiest answers you can think of at the moment.
I am Expecting a detailed, hot and entertaining argument with the most varied set of answers possible. Awaiting the first reply with much anticipation.

It is a stupid thing to compare Amazon and Piracy. Amazon is an hundred percent right andlegal thing happening in the market of reading which is a source of revolution and is all set to revolutionize the industry for it very betterment without any thought of being a threat or pain in the ass to anyone. Amazon is doing its work and is fighting its competitor like any other survival-philic company would do. Publishers should and I am sure would be considering this as a healthy competition and might be busy locking for strategies to fight it for good. Whatever the result would be, I am sure it would only be for the betterment for the industry and the readers at the same time.
Whereas, privacy is a bigger threat not only for publishers or Amazon but for the entire reading industry. It might lead to the mark of an end to the very publishing of quality books and this might probably a result of some readers themselves. The famous and one of the most basic concepts of demand and supply comes into big bright picture here. The concept speaks about a very basic logic which says that when there is demand for anything there has to be supply. The day, the demand ends, the supply will definitely go down. In the scenario which we are talking, if we stop reading or buing or even downloading pirated stuffs, the amount of piracy that’s going on currently is sure to come to an end and it will be more than enough to save the industry. But for some selfish needs, people are simply not willing to do anything about it.
Rather than, asking students to compare or conduct a survey on what is better or worse than what, management colleges or rather all other educational system, institutes and institutions must ask students to work on the ways to curb such anti social elements of society and thereby must be working for the very betterment of our society.

What you have said and explained are undoubtedly undisputed and unarguable truths but what you spoke was from the perspective of a responsible national or rather global citizen. The question was asked from the perspective of poor publishers who are facing troubles what they are not meant to. These publishing companies having been serving the reading industry with the best of books and by introducing best possible authors and titles. Being a loyal reader I am definitely concerned about the very well-being of these publishers and I totally wish that none of the elements even if it’s for the technical betterment be a threat to them and I not by any chance would wish to switch my mode of reading to an electronic media or any other that comes up

Comparing the elements that you were talking about, the question sounded to me like: Do you carry Tiffin or do you walk to school? Now, before you get puzzled in the words, let me explain what I meant by that. The 2 options you provided are both right and hold equal importance or in this case, equal responsibility in being a bloody threat to publishers. Both, Amazon which I call a legal way of piracy and the traditional piracy is a very serious concern and might be highly responsible in making the Publishing industry if not the reading industry destroyed and good for nothing

I totally understand your concern and your private attachment with publishers who have been the major reason behind developing such an awesome reading culture across the globe but that was pure business dear buddy. But yeah, I totally agree to your point that states that book publishers and other publishing medias which comes in the pipeline of the entire making process of a readable printing book has been threatened and adversely affected by the very intrusion and interference of the electronic mode of reading or in your words any other mode of reading that will be developed ever. This is mere common sense that interference of any new technology be it legal or illegal if it proves out be giving more features and more promising, the old technology is kicked out within the least possible time. Be it, pager being represented by the entry of mobile phones and it’s SMS replacement which is a duplex mode of data transfer unlike pager which is a simplex mode.
However for the new generation of readers which is very convenience specific will be responsible in deciding the future of publishers and the e-book manufacturers. But I seriously feel, if the publishers themselves enter the industry of e-book manufacture this would be a great deal for them and I feel this is the perfect time to do that but yeah; the situation of others in the pipeline will still be really bad and piteous. My strong recommendation would be to let both the technology to compete with each other without the slightest of the emotional mark involved.
Now, when I talk about piracy, that is a big and worth-discussion issue. That is a great threat not only to the publishers, others in the pipeline or not only even for the e-book manufacturers but for the entire reading fraternity. It is ruining everything and as suggested earlier, we should responsibly take up the task of saving the industry from this.

This discussion is a very appreciable innovation by your institution disagreeing totally to what was suggested in the very first reply. Here, the choice of words is the game. If you ask me to answer to this question in the sweetest and the simplest way possible, I would say that Amazon is one of the greatest competitions to publishers but Piracy is undoubtedly a soon-to-be-curbed threat and is a crazily invading the entire industry and will dangerously ruin everything and end up eating itself since when there is nothing published there won’t be anything left to pirate.
So, for me as a reader it is fun and interesting to watch the healthy competition happening between both the mode of reading as what I get is an option to chose from. It also interests me that at the end of the day, it is entirely going to be my sole answer and decision so as to what to chose and what not to.