Burgess COMMENTARY
Concentration of power has been a problem in the money profit capitalist market system for a very long time. The problematic nature of excessive concentration of economic power was the subject of acrimonious debate in the latter part of the 19th century and this eventually gave rise to anti-trust legislation and 'trust busting' by the authorities. Many countries have adopted anit-monopoly legislation ... but near monopoly, that is oligopoly is more and more becoming the norm and is tolerated by the authorities.

It is entirely possible that this toleration is a result of expensive lobbying. When lobbying takes place in Nigeria, the Europeans and the Americans call it corruption. When pretty much the same thing goes on in Washington, or London or Brussels it is lobbying, and permitted under the law.

In a monopoly, and in an oligopoly, the consumer ... the people that buy the product ... get to pay much more than they would in an 'efficient' market situation with many competing suppliers.

Solving the problem of concentration of economic power is not going to be easy ... but it must be done. I would argue that it is going to be difficult if not impossible to do using a legislative process, but can be done because the same technological developments that enabled the organization and control of mega-instutions, can now be used to reposition supply in another space. The 'establishment' may try to close down the competition by heavy handed legislation ... like SOPA ... but in a free democracy, we the people, should not allow this to happen.

There was a time when the dinosaur was big and powerful, but they disappeared and lots of little critters survived. So too, I would argue, these few big organizations are vulnerable and sometime, maybe soon, an alternative population of suppliers will emerge.
Peter Burgess