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Cloudflare is half as old as Google and even younger than Amazon, yet your concern is with their monopolistic potential. Explain how that's possible if the comp

Cloudflare is half as old as Google and even younger than Amazon, yet your concern is with their monopolistic potential. Explain how that's possible if the companies at the top are maintaining all the control. We've seen significant shrinkage among the FAANG and their peers in the past few years. Walmart was considered a massive monopolist threat before Amazon came along and ate their lunch. These are examples that fly in the face of your contention. What are some examples that support your argument that any of these businesses holds a de facto monopoly? Again, the root cause of most of the monopolistic effects in our market are due to regulatory capture. Without regulations to set minimums for competitors, they face the threat of newcomers. This is why Walmart and other big organizations support minimum wage increases despite the negative impact on their bottom line. New supermarkets can't even begin to incorporate if they're faced with massive wage and regulatory requirements.

lwhi 3y ago
What chance does a small team without a large amount of funding honestly have of competing with any of these businesses? I'm trying to talk generally about the concept of monopolies in a supposed free market economy and the need for regulation. Fundamentally, we don't necessarily need business to operate at the scale its grown to. The only reason these businesses have grown so vastly is because it increases profit in the hands of fewer people. We (as a society) can do better.
- neodymiumphish 3y ago
  Except that the examples I gave fly directly in the face of the situation you're stating. Amazon replaced Walmart with exponentially less starting cash. Netflix did the same to the entire media industry. Venture capital and business loans could easily fund the next big industry giant provided the barriers to entry aren't astronomical. But corporations are utilizing their lobbying powers to capture the relevant regulatory market in ways that protect their interests. Your problem is with corporatism and cronyism, whether you realize it or not.
  - lwhi 3y ago
    Corporatism and cronyism are major factors that create monopolies.

lwhi 3y ago

What chance does a small team without a large amount of funding honestly have of competing with any of these businesses? I'm trying to talk generally about the concept of monopolies in a supposed free market economy and the need for regulation. Fundamentally, we don't necessarily need business to operate at the scale its grown to. The only reason these businesses have grown so vastly is because it increases profit in the hands of fewer people. We (as a society) can do better.

neodymiumphish 3y ago
Except that the examples I gave fly directly in the face of the situation you're stating. Amazon replaced Walmart with exponentially less starting cash. Netflix did the same to the entire media industry. Venture capital and business loans could easily fund the next big industry giant provided the barriers to entry aren't astronomical. But corporations are utilizing their lobbying powers to capture the relevant regulatory market in ways that protect their interests. Your problem is with corporatism and cronyism, whether you realize it or not.
- lwhi 3y ago
  Corporatism and cronyism are major factors that create monopolies.