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A comment on Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the government. Parent comment

Re:Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the g... by russell on Wednesday June 29, 2011 @01:59PM (#2710473)
Are you trying to say that unregulated monopolies like US Steel, Standard Oil, the railroads, AT&T, American Tobacco didnt have the best interests of the public in mind? After all Carnegie gave us lots of libraries and without Rockefeller we would not have had the Rockettes.
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Re:Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the g... by lionhearted on Wednesday June 29, 2011 @06:55PM (#2711721)
I can't comment on the other three, but Standard Oil was fantastically good for the United States and the world. I'd really recommend the biography "Titan" by Ron Chernow about John Rockefeller's life.

Tons of advances in efficiency, chemistry, operations, logistics. Oil prices fell dramatically, consistency and quality went up, supply went up through all of Standard's monopoly years. Breaking it up was far more about political factional conflict than it was about problems for consumers.

(Preemptively: Before anyone decides to jump on it, Rockefeller's rebate deal with the railroad wasn't above board. But Standard Oil was a huge net gain for the world. Absurdly so, actually.)

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Re:Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the g... by seabee on Wednesday June 29, 2011 @02:31PM (#2710608)
If American Tobacco had the best interests of the public in mind, do you think they'd still exist in any form?

Being philanthropic is not mutually exclusive with owning an amoral or even unethical business.

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Re:Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the g... by masklinn on Wednesday June 29, 2011 @03:58PM (#2710979)
I'm pretty sure he was being sarcastic.
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Re:Why is European broadband faster and cheaper? Blame the g... by chopsueyar on Wednesday June 29, 2011 @03:02PM (#2710757)
One man's robber baron is another man's philanthropist.

Did you ever use Windows Millennium Edition?

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