The Monopoly Myth: The Case of Standard Oil
Thursday, February 5, 2009 at 7:30pm
USC Campus: ZHS 352
Most of us were taught in school that laissez-faire capitalism was tried in the 1800s--and failed. Without government regulations and antitrust law, we learned, businessmen used "anti-competitive" tactics to become giant, unchallengeable monopolies. The most famous monopoly was John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust, which supposedly used its "market power" to squelch innovative competitors and jack up consumer prices at will.
But did this really happen? Did laissez-faire really fail? No, argues Alex Epstein of the Ayn Rand Institute. In "The Monopoly Myth: The Case of Standard Oil," Epstein will tell the real story of Rockefeller's rise to market dominance--and explain how his success was the result not of shady practices, but of his company's incredible ability to bring the cheapest, best oil to millions of Americans.
Epstein will argue that the case of Standard Oil raises many questions about Americans' commonly held beliefs on monopolies, competition, and government. Is antitrust law really necessary to protect us against monopolies and promote competition? Was the government right to punish Microsoft for "monopolization," and is it justified in investigating Google and Yahoo for "anti-competitive" behavior? Epstein will address these questions and more in his 45-minute talk, followed by a question-and-answer period.
