It is supremely difficult to look at the dominant mega crony corporations of today and conclude that to be a product of a truly Free Market. That is the same as saying Wall Street is a paragon of the Free Market. It is more likely the case that such megalithic corporations achieved their dominant status by appealing to the State with such methods as regulatory capture, rent seeking, protectionist laws, the revolving door, minimum wage laws, and other barriers to entry.
The small mom and pop shop can never be considered in the same breath as the bloated monstrosities that include Monsanto, DuPont, Chevron, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Halliburton, Raytheon etc. There is a massive difference between a company with a lobby capable of bribing politicians, writing laws, and constructing regulations that will crush and disembowel the little start up businesses that strive to make a name for themselves. It is the height of irony that the Statist who advocates for a higher minimum wage and increased regulations will only empower the State to snuff out the very small businesses they are seeking to coddle and protect.
Hate the game, not the player. When there exists an institution that utilizes violence and threats of violence to achieve its ends, the State, one can be sure that dominant businesses will seek out the protection of such an institution to firmly entrench their dominance and destroy competition. Remove the perverting influence of the State and the scene equalizes such that the only way a business can grow to such gigantic proportions is by supremely satisfying the needs and desires of the consumers. In that way the dominance of a business will indicate its wondrous ability to serve humanity in the most magnificent manner possible.
Pingback: Antony Sammeroff – Think Like An Economist | The Conscious Resistance Network
Pingback: Antony Sammeroff – Think Like An Economist | Peaceful Anarchism