RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)
Forwarded message:
Actualy it is. But I'd certaily entertain any evidence you may want to present to your case...other than just saying it over and over.
Only after the early 1890's when the situation got so bad they had to do something. Prior to that there was no federal intervention in railroad operations per se (I say that because the US government used the railroads at a very hefty discount).
You assume wrong. I am talking of the entire oil industry as a whole.
The issue in the oil industry isn't the refineries or pipelines or any of that other stuff. It's mineral rights. And every drop of mineral rights in this country is owned by oil companies or the US government as a result of the conflicts that took place from the late 1800's to the early 1900's.
Actualy the local and state regulators did that back in the late 50's and early 60's the federals had no hand in it. The same happend prior to the TVA projects of the late 20's and 30's with the electric production industry.
Because then he would be doing what you like to do, change the subject and claim it's the same thing.
A big company has no monetary advantage over a small company.
You know nothing of how large businesses work over small ones then.
Bullshit math. The interactions are nowhere near as simple as you state. The big company has the resources to outlast the smaller company in any industry that can monopolize (an issue you seem to miss, not all industries can monopolize) and if its' smart will buy the smaller company at some point (unless prevented) as the smaller companies becomes resource starved.
Examples please where a small firm dukes it out (sic) on equal terms with a larger one...
In just about everyplace in the US the company doing the trash collection and dumping is private, especialy in the bigger cities. They may be working under contract for the city but the company is privately held. My suspicion is that most places on the planet, excluding control markets like Cuba, use private companies under contract for this.
In other parts of the world shoe production is public.
What country produces shoes as a function of government agency and prevents private shoe production? I must admit I nearly hurt myself laughing at this one.
Then how does it operate? Who owns the switches and wires? Either it's a public utility or it's some sort of private enterprise (though it may be under contract to the government).
There is no "natural monopoly" that is not somewhere a
A 'natural' monoploy, to my mind, is a company that operates in an industry that can be saturated. By saturation I mean that the demand of the market can be met by a small number (approaching 1 if left unregulated over time, usualy by by-outs or business experation) of manufacturers. The VCR industry is a great example of a 'natural' monopoly. Only a few years ago *every* VCR mechanism on the planet was made by one of 5 companies and with the cessation of Curtis-Williams, not one of them was a US company. It is not possible to buy a VCR designed and made in the US today because of this market monopolization. It is also impossible to start such a company because the costs of market entry are too enormous. There is *no* government regulation of the VCR industry outside of EOE issues to this day. ____________________________________________________________________ The seeker is a finder. Ancient Persian Proverb The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage@ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------
Jim Choate claims that free markets are routinely overrun by monopolies. I say this is nonsense. At 03:51 PM 10/4/98 -0500, Jim Choate wrote:
But I'd certaily entertain any evidence you may want to present to your case.
How can anyone present evidence when except for Microsoft you have not named a single company that alleged became a monopoly, and you have been vague about the markets that these companies allegedly monopolized, and the periods during which these markets were monpolized. It is as if you were claiming that giant monsters frequently terrorized US cities. Unless you make a specific allegation, no refutation is possible or necessary. For example if you were to claim that King Kong demolished the empire state building, then someone could point out that the empire state building still stands. A simple explanation for your inability to name any specific giant monsters, or any particular places and times where these giant monsters were rampaging, is that these giant monsters do not exist, and never have existed.
Examples please where a small firm dukes it out (sic) on equal terms with a larger one...
MacDonalds vs Burger King. Hertz vs Avis. Mastercard vs Visa. And of course, the biggest mismatch of them all Microsoft vs Linux.
You mistake the political adventures of your local elite for universal laws.
Holland used to do this on the grounds that shoes were a vital necessity, and if the market was left to private enterprise some people would go shoeless.
There is no empirical evidence that any natural monopolies exist.
This does not make the VCR business a monopoly. It would only be a monopoly if the existing players were free to raise prices. Manifestly the market for the mechanism of the VCR has become a commodity market, in which profit margins are extremely low. The same is true of the aluminium market, where you have all aluminium smelted by a single provider. There is nothing to stop anyone else from going into the business, but because the profit margins are razor thin, nobody bothers. Although there is only a single company, it is not a monopoly because if they expanded their very thin proft margins by the slightest degree, other people would promptly eat their lunch. --digsig James A. Donald 6YeGpsZR+nOTh/cGwvITnSR3TdzclVpR0+pr3YYQdkG oa82+HWPHe6y441fIArVLbuu3EwwEh2ZOS4Pi3jk 4Lscjd2dJEP8tQjtxX0+5pcrFhvS7G3mJz67hoycC ----------------------------------------------------- We have the right to defend ourselves and our property, because of the kind of animals that we are. True law derives from this right, not from the arbitrary power of the omnipotent state. http://www.jim.com/jamesd/ James A. Donald
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Jim Choate