fagin@ucbvax.ARPA (Barry Steven Fagin) (08/02/85)
>>> = Charley Wingate >> = Nat Howard > = CHarley Wingate again >>>The historical [record] rather plainly shows that markets tend to drift away >>from perfect >>>competition towards monopolies and oligopolies as a result of natural >>>forces, unless there are restraining forces to oppose this. > >>Please show us where the historical record indicates that markets tend >>to drift away from competition. > >Well, recall when US Steel had a monopoly in the steel industry? When >Standard Oil was rapidly gobbling up all the oil companies in the country? >When the railroads fought to destroy each other? And we mustn't forget Ma >Bell. Actually, Charley, all four examples you cite were the result of *governmental* intervention on behalf of the affected company, as those involved were able to accomplish politically what they could not accomplish economically. Four articles follow in net.politics discussing each of the examples you mention: U.S. Steel, Standard Oil, the railroads, and Ma Bell. In each article I will shamelessly steal material from Gabriel Kolko's book *The Triumph of Conservatism*. Kolko is a historian at the university of Toronto. He writes from the perspective of the Left and consequently hates it when his work is used to support libertarian positions, but tough on him. --Barry -- Barry Fagin @ University of California, Berkeley
mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (Charley Wingate) (08/05/85)
In article <9558@ucbvax.ARPA> fagin@ucbvax.UUCP (Barry Steven Fagin) writes: >>Well, recall when US Steel had a monopoly in the steel industry? When >>Standard Oil was rapidly gobbling up all the oil companies in the country? >>When the railroads fought to destroy each other? And we mustn't forget Ma >>Bell. >Actually, Charley, all four examples you cite were the result of >*governmental* intervention on behalf of the affected company, as >those involved were able to accomplish politically what they could not >accomplish economically. Four articles follow in net.politics >discussing each of the examples you mention: U.S. Steel, Standard Oil, >the railroads, and Ma Bell. As my other followups point out, this is certainly not true in every case cited. Anyway, why isn't this possible in any government? (Rhetorical question, by the way. I'd like to see Libertarian government defended against this.) C Wingate