No. All these books were fine for countless decades until the woke fad. By your own logic they would simply switch to trendy "unproblematic" books instead of continuing to sell classics -- but that would mean having actual principles. Also it would also mean going broke.
There are no masses of people getting bent out of shape about Oompa-Loompas demanding edits. Everybody knows and agrees those candy midgets had it coming.
(I am not in favor of editing the books or banning books from libraries because they are uncomfortable to a segment of the population)
It's fine if you retroactively disagree with this and wish you had time traveled back to undo the SJWs of the 1970s before they could start. I am not personally interested in litigating whether or not publishers should edit books. I don't care about Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, it wasn't a book I read often growing up and I don't care for either movie. I care least of all about what you think of a book. You do you, random stranger on the internet.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_and_the_Chocolate_Fact...
Publishers editing books of their own accord after the author is dead to please imaginary mobs -- something else entirely. Not great. Bad. Very bad. Regardless of the type of edit or politics involved.
In what sense? The ownership of the copyright is the ownership of the right to create derivative works and refrain from publishing the original. That's the law and the whole of the law.
It's difficult, sitting in the midst of history, to predict what history will be.
This fact isn't some kind of attack on history; it's a reflection of the fact that the stories we tell children change to reflect our values.
This publisher is in the business of selling new copies of stories for children. It'd be surprising if they didn't change.
Great, as a parent you are free to read whatever books reflect your values to your children.
If the plight of the fictional Oompa Loompas (I don't recall slavery being justified in the book, but hey, your interpretation is as good as any, that's the wonderful thing about books) is upsetting to you -- do not read or expose your kids to it.
Expose them to books that reflect your values. Or even write new ones if you have any talent.
Editing existing books in this manner is never necessary or justified.
Sales are relevant, and sales are down. Another version that sells better has no impact on the copy on your shelf.
(... and if they can goose sales by generating market buzz via controversy, more power to them. A tip of my hat to playing folks like us against each other to put coin in their pockets. ;) ).