From: Mark Steven Heyman (markheyman@infoproconsulting.com)
Date: Wed Jul 13 2005 - 04:07:19 BST
On 10 Jul 2005 at 17:40, Platt Holden wrote:
>
> msh 7-10-05:
> Ok. Thanks for a direct answer. But wouldn't you agree that this
> means governments should not interfere in the development of
> monopolies?
platt 7-11-05:
Yes. Anti-trust laws are based on the fallacy that a free market will
inevitably lead to monopolies. But the Austrian school of economics
maintains that government intervention into the economy has been the cause
of the few monopolies that have historically existed, like the salt
monopoly in 18th century France.
msh 7-12-05:
The idea that unregulated capitalism will not lead to monopolies, or
near-monopolies, defies common sense. Even a cursory look at the the
last decade's merging of banks, media producers, insurance companies,
airlines, defense contractors, computer software and hardware
companies, would belie the notion that monopoly is somehow
"impossible" unless it is caused by government intervention. What
specific ideas from the "Austrian school of economics" leads you to
believe that these conglomerations of wealth would not have occurred
if it were not for government interference?
> That government should not stop someone from owning,
> say, all the timberland in the country?
platt 7-11-05:
Impossible to occur without government interference. Would be like an
individual cornering the market on gold, which if memory serves, was tried
not too long ago, in the 70's perhaps?
msh 7-12-05:
See above. Microsoft's near monopoly of PC operating systems would
clearly have achieved totality if not for government intervention;
and, even with government's tardy intervention, Microsoft's
stranglehold on the OS market has proved nearly fatal to the
development and distribution of viable alternatives to Windows. What
economic concepts from your Austrian School what have prevented this
from happening in an environment totally free of government
intervention?
Mark Steven Heyman (msh)
--
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