“People of the same trade seldom meet together that the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public or some contrivance to raise prices.” This sentence from the eighteenth century moral philosopher and father of capitalism Adam Smith in his 1776 book, The Wealth of Nations, suggests his apprehension about monopolies. Smith was deeply concerned about the laws passed by the British Parliament that imposed high import duties on goods shipped from the colonies to England while granting trade monopolies to special interests and favored companies. He was equally troubled by non-governmental monopolies created through conspiracies among businesses to restrict supply and raise prices.
In the Biden era, the Reaganite consensus is finally breaking down.
Illustration by Tim Lahan
In a 1981 speech to the boards of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, President Ronald Reagan expressed one of the central ideas of the coming era. “The societies which have achieved the most spectacular, broad-based economic progress … believe in the magic of the marketplace.” I have long thought that this and many other Reagan speeches were extraordinary examples of what Michael Sandel has called public philosophy an attempt “to bring moral and political philosophy to bear on contemporary public discourse.”
Antitrust: Taking on Monopoly Power From the Gilded Age to the Digital Age
Amy Klobuchar Pushes for Antitrust Laws So Large Companies Can t Stifle StartUps
On 4/20/21 at 12:51 PM EDT
Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar joined Chris Evans and Mark Kassen to discuss the government s role in breaking up monopolies and the history and consequences of antitrust laws.
More than 45 states and the federal government have filed multiple lawsuits against Big Tech companies like Google and Facebook, alleging they have eliminated, defeated or simply bought competition in a manner that stifles competition and innovation, which translates into higher prices for advertisers and consumers.
Klobuchar said that, while this all might seem confusing, young people should really care about how monopolies and antitrust laws affect their everyday lives.
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