Just a side note, but Standard Oil wasn't all bad (at least not for the first 20 or so years).
They consolidated kerosene and gas production/consumption under essentially one roof, standardized rail carriages/loading docks for rapid oil dissemination and built hundreds of gas/oil pipes to aggressively reduce costs whilst providing a higher standard of oil (hence the name Standard Oil!) to the masses.
Standard Oil only became as big as it did because it provided a critical service at a lower cost. Problem was - as illustrated by my answer - is that they lost their way in the charge of profits with all the monopoly stuff you reference. This is why totally free markets don't work - they tend towards monopoly - which is my point.
I like free markets, I like innovation and I also like the government. I'm a walking host of contradictions :).
Comments
Just a side note, but Standard Oil wasn't all bad (at least not for the first 20 or so years).
They consolidated kerosene and gas production/consumption under essentially one roof, standardized rail carriages/loading docks for rapid oil dissemination and built hundreds of gas/oil pipes to aggressively reduce costs whilst providing a higher standard of oil (hence the name Standard Oil!) to the masses.
Standard Oil only became as big as it did because it provided a critical service at a lower cost. Problem was - as illustrated by my answer - is that they lost their way in the charge of profits with all the monopoly stuff you reference. This is why totally free markets don't work - they tend towards monopoly - which is my point.
I like free markets, I like innovation and I also like the government. I'm a walking host of contradictions :).