Re:Monopoly, is it a problem?
by jheriko on Sunday April 25, 2010 @08:11AM
(#1292593)
I think the author completely fails to understand the problem caused by monopolies and why the underlying capitalist philosophy implies the problem - namely that they can jack up prices without competition and its always in their best interest to do so.
Really the problem with monopolies is how we implement capitalism with so few checks and balances - in an "idealised" setting you want monopolies to get the most efficient use of resources globally - its capitalism that messes it up by driving the monopoly to do "evil" things like jack up prices. The incentive to be greedy and selfish needs to be removed - this is a LOT easier said than done, but it is something that governments are most certainly capable of.
Really the problem with monopolies is how we implement capitalism with so few checks and balances - in an "idealised" setting you want monopolies to get the most efficient use of resources globally - its capitalism that messes it up by driving the monopoly to do "evil" things like jack up prices. The incentive to be greedy and selfish needs to be removed - this is a LOT easier said than done, but it is something that governments are most certainly capable of.