> NPR basically has a monopoly on public radio
NPR does not have a monopoly and it's answerable to the member stations so it's not a great example of centralization but I agree that centralization is not inherently bad.
"monopoly on public radio"
If you think about that phrase for a second you'll realize how ridiculous it sounds.
I think you may be using "monopoly" in the colloquial sense of "dominant market share" and not in the more specific sense of "using dominant market share to prevent competition" which is the legal sense.
There is nothing about NPR that discourages other public broadcasters.
(I'm not sure I'd call Google or FB a monopoly by that definition either, despite their market shares.
> and yet we don't constantly hear about all the evil stuff they're doing
We do, though, from conservatives.
NPR basically has a monopoly on public radio, and yet we don't constantly hear about all the evil stuff they're doing. Why? Because they're not being run as a loss leader to sell missiles and landmines or whatever.
Centralization isn't bad as long as the central organization exists to serve the relevant stakeholders in an equitable way.