Economics: What a monopoly isn't.

[Martin Hash]

No government intervention, no monopolies? Is that it?

I think, bizarrely, that is the supposition of the OP. Libertarianism has its own reality that has nothing to do with reality.

[Fife]

No government intervention, no monopolies? Is that it?

I think, bizarrely, that is the supposition of the OP. Libertarianism has its own reality that has nothing to do with reality.

There's nothing really "bizarre" with someone adhering blindly to mongrel a posteriori thinking.

You're no snowflake on that front, brother. Rather mundane and pedestrian, in fact, not bizarre in any respect, as far as I can see.

[DBTrek]

If a monopoly has been achieved without an assist from the government I’d love to hear about it.

I’m sure those who disagree with me have countless examples.
So ... anytime they want to produce even one of them ...

[Speaker to Animals]

If a monopoly has been achieved without an assist from the government I’d love to hear about it.

I’m sure those who disagree with me have countless examples.
So ... anytime they want to produce even one of them ...

Standard Oil
US Steel
AT&T


Off the top of my head..

[DBTrek]

All three have competitors.
Monopolies are protected from competition.

Nothing is preventing new oil companies, new steel refineries, or new telecoms from arising.

No, I’m afraid anywhere you find a market where competition is forbidden, those restrictions are enforced by the government.

[Speaker to Animals]

That's not what monopoly means, DB. Did you not take macroeconomics in college?

Those three corporations, when they were monopolies, had the vast market share in their respective markets. They created impossible barriers to entry for most competitors, and they managed to undersell their competitors (at a loss) to maintain their market share.

[Speaker to Animals]

One of the easiest ways to detect a monopoly forming is inefficient pricing. At first, you will see the products or services at rock bottom pricing that shouldn't be sustainable. This drives competition out of business. Then you see pricing well above where it should be based on supply and demand. This is because they now control most of the market share. There's nothing illegal about becoming a monopoly. That's the goal of every business (or should be). But if they use monopolistic practices like the two listed above, the government is supposed to step in and either regulate them or break them up.

[DBTrek]

The idea that market share equals monopoly is demonstrably false. If I own the only shoe store in Topeka, Kansas, I’m not a monopoly - even if I have 100% of the Topeka shoe market. It’s not a monopoly because others can compete with me.

Think about it - any new, unique product would automatically be a monopoly upon release if market share determined monopolies.

“Brand new widget X goes on sale today”

“Quick, destroy that company. They have a monopoly on widget X markets!”

That’s not how it works.
It’s all about restricting competition.
Government can restrict new competitors from challenging Comcast, but Comcast can’t forbid start-ups from competing with them. To have a monopoly you need to suppress competitors and government is the tool of the suppression.

[Martin Hash]

The King don't care if he has a monopoly. He earned it.

[DBTrek]

The king is a monopolist.
But, of course, he’s also government.