> A monopoly (from Greek μόνος, mónos, 'single, alone' and πωλεῖν, pōleîn, 'to sell') exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity. This contrasts with a monopsony which relates to a single entity's control of a market to purchase a good or service, and with oligopoly and duopoly which consists of a few sellers dominating a market.[1] Monopolies are thus characterized by a lack of economic competition to produce the good or service, a lack of viable substitute goods, and the possibility of a high monopoly price well above the seller's marginal cost that leads to a high monopoly profit.[2]
For example, almost everyone can get their medication at Costco, Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens.
I know what the legal and colloquial definitions of a monopoly are. It obviously needs to change. I cannot fathom how one company with all these varied interests and capabilities are somehow "good for consumers", which is exactly the spirit of anti-trust law.
At one point in American history we were far too loose and reckless with what a monopoly was defined as. Now, nothing is a monopoly. I can't imagine how this is much better.
Arguments should be made about the harmful aspects of those, which Amazon actually is. Perhaps one can make the case that conglomerates inevitably leads to monopolies, and on that basis one can argue against the development of conglomerates.
> Perhaps one can make the case that conglomerates inevitably leads to monopolies, and on that basis one can argue against the development of conglomerates.
You are right and this is precisely my line of thinking. All the parts you need to make a monopoly are already there, so then they either go full tilt or they try to engineer the economy so key businesses don't go down so they can continue to claim a monopoly doesn't exist yet.
It's worth noting I originally referred to it as "monopoly law" but it's actually anti-trust law, which could make some room for conglomerate making.
It's not as simple as writing a law that says "Conglomerates are illegal."
How do you define conglomerate? Amazon started selling books. Then it started selling other things. Now it's starting to sell medicine. At what point should the line have been drawn?
Obviously, the goal is to prevent harm to the consumer, but can one demonstrate that the consumer has been harmed? As a consumer, I know it was very hard for me to get such quick delivery of random items before Amazon. I especially remember getting ripped off on HDMI cables and other cables by Best Buy as a kid, and Amazon was amazing for enabling me to purchase them so cheaply, and with such huge selection I never would have found at Best Buy.
(I personally use Amazon.com sparingly now due to their commingling policies and disinterest in providing me with a quality product).
But the point is that demonstrating consumer harm isn't simple. Conglomerates can deliver goods and services at lower prices, which is good for buyers. Conglomerates can also engage in practices which helps buyers in the short term, but harms them in the long term.
Before grocery stores, there were produce stands, butchers, delis, bakers. Then a giant grocery comes into town, and now, as a buyer, I can save time and money going to one place and getting all I need. Should this be illegal?
The purpose of my comment is to illustrate that the situation is not as simple as screaming "monopoly". There are even geo-political risks to consider, where having conglomerates on your side can be helpful, if not help counteract the effects of conglomerates of other countries.
It's a pity you got downvoted (due to an immediate first reply -- happens more and more), but my first reaction was exactly the same as yours. Amazon got richer during COVID19. Bezos got way richer. To be honest, I am not actually convinced that monopolies are by definition bad, but Amazon strikes me evermore as a bad instantiation of it.
Horror story: imagine the Amazon Pharmacy being flooded with Chinese sellers. This is also why I don’t like to shop on Amazon anymore. You can find the same sellers on AliExpress – cheaper and from the same source, if that’s what you want (and sometimes, it is what you want). (Even if you'd want to offer as a counterpoint their other ventures in e.g. cloud, one could offer a rebuttal again in the way how they're treating their engineers.) I was a huge Amazon customer in the past, but I implicitly feel less and less inclined to buy there. The only benefit for me is the very forthcoming customer support (if you chat with a rep and honestly complain about a bad product, they’ll go all the way -- in fact it's only lately I've seen other local web shops finally approach this central point).
It’s always the same with them: “look, here’s this new innovative thing where we streamlined the product and ignored the possible ways to game it.” Great on the former, why didn’t you care about the latter.
Also: what I find funny is that everyone defending Amazon today as a shining example of capitalism, often the same types being against that “horrible” communism, might find it interesting to ponder the question how Amazon is organized and how much revenue they’re generating. It’s a planned economy. Not by a state, but by a company. With one head at the top.
