Monopolies: Good, Bad, or Indifferent?

The past couple days I've had much on my mind. My mind can be a pretty a scary place to be in most of the time, especially trying to muddle your way through some thoughts! :) Lately I've been thinking a lot about monopolies. Monopoly can be a pretty dirty word in the English language and a taboo topic most folks like to shelve for another day's conversation. But what is it about this word that gets us so fired up? Is it the fear of a socialistic, government-monopolized nation? Is it man's competitive nature rising to the surface and not wanting their neighbor to be stronger & more powerful than them? Is it lack of education or is it all of the above?

I'd like this topic to be my next Ketch Pen article but I wanted to bring it up to get people thinking. Are all monopolies truly bad? Or do we only think of them as bad because it has been imprinted on us from a young age? I have staggeringly different opinions depending on the industry, company, and situation, which obviously shows my lack of knowledge or education on the subject. I'm in no position to go on the O'Reilly factor any time soon arguing my opinions!

The monopoly "battle" I'm most familiar with is the one that has seemed to follow Microsoft around for nearly the life of the company. Now, I fully understand the importance of competition and all the benefits that healthy competition provides. However, in the case of Microsoft specifically can one company help that they have created a hold on an entire market through making a product that no other company has been able to recreate as well? Are we going to punish every person and every company who just happens to be the best in their class? It would be like telling Tiger Woods that he has to give up every win he has ever had just because he is better than his competitors.

Now on the opposite end of the spectrum for me is Wal-Mart. I fully believe that Wal-Mart is an example of an unhealthy monopoly. Now they not technically have a full-fledge hold on the market but they are certainly close and one could say there company's success has changed American Industry. I bring up Wal-Mart because of the fact that their stores with grocery sections can be very frustrating to shop in due to the fact they often only carry 1 or 2 brands of a product. When a corporation who has thousands of locations carries only a few brands in their stores, they are creating a chain of monopolies that trickle on down to every supplier, transporters, and even growers of their products. Do we need to worry about one corporation in one industry being a monopoly when we could have one corporation change multiple industries?

I wanted to get the thoughts rolling on the whole monopoly debacle because the biggest monopoly chatter I have always heard has been in relation to the PACKERS. That's right, I blew the cover right off of that bottled up topic!!! Are the packers a monopoly? If they are a true monopoly, does it really matter? Have you ever thought that perhaps all the regulations today make it almost not impossible for the strongest contender to stay? Survival of the fittest in food processing? You can't have it all ways....you can't have the safest supply in the world, the healthiest, the greatest amount, and STILL have multiple companies trying to save in that arena.

Hmm.....gets ya thinking doesn't it? :) Next WCA ketch pen article is brewing.............