https://pluralistic.net/2025/11/06/vertical-blinds/#invest-dont-acquire
“A central fact of
enshittification is that the growth of quality-destroying,
pocket-picking monopolists wasn't an accident, nor was it inevitable. Rather,
named individuals, in living memory, advocated for and created
pro-enshittificatory policies, ushering in the enshittocene.
The greatest enshittifiers of all are the neoliberal economists who advocated
for the idea that monopolies are
good, because (in their perfect economic
models), the only way for a company to secure a monopoly is to be so amazing
that we all voluntarily start buying its products and services, and the instant
a monopoly starts to abuse its market power, new companies will enter the
market and poach us all from the bloated incumbent.
This "consumer welfare" theory of antitrust is obviously wrong, and it's the
best-known neoliberal monopoly delusion. But it's not the only one! Another
pro-monopoly ideology we can thank the Chicago School economists for is
"industrial organization" (IO), a theory that insists that
vertical
monopolies are actually
really good. This turns out to be one of the most
consequentially catastrophic mistakes in modern economic history.”
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
