Monopoly and Competition

Presented by Rothbard at New York Polytechnic University in 1972.

In order for anyone to make ethical judgments, he must know the consequences of his various actions. In questions of union actions displacement or unemployment for oneself or others will be considered unfortunate by most people.

The words monopoly and competition have been changed. Competition meant rivalry or competing, either active or potential.  Businesses do not like this. Monopoly meant a grant of privilege by the government. It now means falling demand curve.

Only those who embrace Pink's advice to develop a whole new mind, and Hazlitt's recommendation to develop real thinking and problem-solving skills, will be successfully employed in the dark days ahead.

Given the rate at which our wealth and culture seem to be eroding away from beneath our feet, I urge both my elders and my peers to oppose the leviathan state and its cronies at every turn so we can start a new journey toward lasting prosperity.

Most people favor patent and copyright law because they believe that it generates net wealth — that the value of the innovation stimulated by IP law is significantly greater than the costs of these laws.

State dominated cartels used intellectuals as apologists for the government. Big unionism was to transmit orders to the working class. Public utilities were government monopolies for fifty year terms, run without any checks by the public. It is the function of government to run everything.

Rockefeller's Standard Oil created a monopoly in kerosene refining by buying others out. A huge drop in the price of fuel followed, benefiting consumers, due to production efficiencies. Rothbard then discusses pietists, prohibitionists and the big political shift of 1896.

Eventually, every aspect of productive life will be so controlled that capitalist drive and ingenuity will become relics of the past.

What counts in the market are the externalities that can be derived from intellectual property. How to deal with these externalities is, of course, a different matter.