An interesting theory that a colleague proposed to me recently is that it is indeed consistent with free market principles for monopolistic entities to emerge a

An interesting theory that a colleague proposed to me recently is that it is indeed consistent with free market principles for monopolistic entities to emerge and influence public policy. Consumers presumably think very hard about every purchasing decision weighing both economic value proposition (are these bananas cheaper than those bananas) as well as social signaling (should I buy a beer that has an advertisement with a trans person). If they want a business to have more political influence, they will buy more of their products and services. Therefore operators of the business have a fiduciary duty to shareholders and customers to exert as much influence over public policy as possible.