The article suggests Friedman was right - this cartel was very short lived. "Powerful and influential though it was, the Phoebus cartel was short-lived. Within

The article suggests Friedman was right - this cartel was very short lived. "Powerful and influential though it was, the Phoebus cartel was short-lived. Within six years of its formation, the cartel was already starting to struggle." Friedman was also right that the cartel existed primarily due to government assistance: "GE’s licensing of its basic lightbulb patents gave rise to yet more alliances, most notably the powerful Patentgemeinschaft (“patent pool”)..."