When considering the cause of more power concentrating in fewer companies, we may look no further than the US government.
When consolidation gets to the extreme, it is a monopoly. Ludwig von Mises, the voice of free market economics, stated, “Almost all the monopolies that are assailed by public opinion and against which governments pretend to fight are government made.”
In other words, the moment that the government is given power over the economy, with power to make or break a business or industry, lobbyists magically appear. Many lobbyists want to influence government to pass laws that will give their company advantages over their existing competitors. Others want laws passed that will set high, strict standards to new businesses, thus reducing the birth of potential competitors into the market. Most companies, however, want to get in good with the government just to maintain their existence, that the almighty government doesn’t dictate a law and mangle
their profits. The mere existence of sovereign government power in economics presents instability and danger to industry.Because many think the fault for consolidation is in the media itself, they try to implore government to make laws against it. They try to restrict further growth of these giants. However, what about promoting growth of the little company that wants to get in? Restrictions can and should be lifted from new businesses from entering the market. Then we don’t have to punish and restrict business, but give it more life and freedom. This will naturally tackle the “problem” of consolidation and increase the amount of competitors.
The culprits of media concentration aren’t Big Media. They just do what is possible to survive and continue to grow and improve their business in challenging times. By taking government out of the economics equation, media business, including the little guys, will flourish.
2 comments:
My friend, I'm not a fan of Washington officials reaching their grimy hands into my life. However,a market free of of government regulation will and has led to greater media consolidation. When a society's economy is based on the concept that a minority of folks own capital and production,concentration is unavoidable without regulation. The only other alternative is a drastic change in the way are society is arranged around the means of production. In other words, if ownership was transferred to the majority than concentration of ownership is avoidable.
If you are talking about the US economy leading to greater media consolidation, then you're right, it "will and has led to greater media". US isn't a free market economy; it's a mixed economy, where "crony capitalism" runs rampant. I believe that real free market capitalism would see much more favorable results than any other economic system.
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