On 11 Dec 2009 at 18:02, khaledsa wrote: > While I am at the supermarket, I try to exercise my freedom of choice, > others will try the same as they see the virtue of the new product. Then > one day we show up a that supermarket, and the product is no longer > there. Later we find out that the supermarket actually 'sells' its shelf > space. So while the new cereal is good for me at a very fair price, the > manufacturer finds himself out of that grocery store because either > Kellogs or general mills 'bought' all the shelf space for their product. > When I ask my grocer ( if there is a local guy to talk to) I am either > told that Headquarters somewhere makes that decision, and his hands are > tied, or find out that the grocery chain is pretty much being paid not to > carry my product of choice. > > Of course the laws are written in such a way, that no wrongdoing can be > found in a court of law, and that the market is tilted in favor of the > one or two huge monopolies that already exist. > > No one here is saying that a free market is not the best solution that we > know of so far, all we are asking for is a LEVELED playing filed.
Hey Khaled, No one claims the free market is perfect, but it does tend to offer alternatives when somebody attempts to capture the market, the internet being the latest escape from market monopolies. The irony is that in many areas of human activity the government holds a monopoly, education being a prime example. Efforts to break that monopoly, like offering school vouchers, are met with fierce opposition. So I think on balance the market works to level the playing field while government, often in cahoots with business, quashes competition. I wonder if your favorite cereal is available for purchase on the internet? Platt Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
