How To Organize Society From Top To Bottom

Chapter 24


Last time we proposed the argument that monopoly control by a few families and institutions has resulted in 100 families and institutions in owning 62% of the GNP and over 2/3 of its stock wealth.

This prompted the question of what is to be done.

The solution at hand was to implement current monopoly laws adding an additional proviso that states investors or even minority investors cannot control or invest in more that two industries. This may be exceeded if they invested in more industries but not more that the same two industries.

The data and detail on this idea has been studied in the United States and is underway in the European Union.
The conclusion has been that where this proviso has been disregarded competition goes down in that industry, inequality rises, and prices go up to the consumer.

The authors of the EU study states:
”So far, the clearest picture we have comes from America. In 2016, the President’s Council of Economic Advisers published a report which showed that in the last two decades, several US industries did get more concentrated.

And at the same time, those companies became much more profitable. So just at the time when concentration was growing, businesses also got hold of more of the country's wealth.”

“We need to understand if the same is true here in Europe. Because if companies really are getting more powerful – if it's true that competition is falling away – then the effects for our society and our economy could be very serious.”

Cross invested individuals will see “fierce competition” may not seem appealing” 

In the DOJ report cited below:

”In 2016, for example, an article in the Harvard Business Review showed how four investment funds were among the top seven shareholders of every one of the four biggest US airlines.”

Common investment may mean higher prices but also reduced investment and stagnation in a given market at home and abroad. And, ultimately dis-investment when the large firm no longer is able to innovate.
They then like an Octopus hold on to market share erect barriers for others to enter that market and squash competitors, or buy out their competition and squash it that way, or litigate against real, smaller competitors.

Hence we see monopoly is monopoly and it has given us massive inequality.

End of Essay