In my opinion the food industry having a monopoly on what we eat,
Every industry by definition has a monopoly on what you can buy, since new entrants into the field instantly become part of that industry. Using the word “monopoly” in this way abuses the word and makes it meaningless.
Every industry by definition has a monopoly on what you can buy
In my opinion the food industry having a monopoly on what we eat
Some food is grown or killed by people for personal consumption. Some of that is shared or traded between rural neighbours. Therefore, rural living can indeed mean that the food industry doesn’t have a monopoly on what you eat. (I’m eating fresh strawberry from my parents’ garden/store right now. It’s great.)
(Remember checking assumptions every once in a while!)
Since you can do almost anything for yourself or your family, your claim is also an example of: “Using the word “monopoly” in this way abuses the word and makes it meaningless.” Except for the only real-world monopolies, which are always government enforced.
I nearly wrote a cranky response along these lines, but then I re-read it. Note the words in bold. Monopoly is about market power, not brute force coercion at point of consumption. The OP made two errors in the use of the word ‘monopoly’. This response objected to one, and Multiheaded’s response caught another.
I’d also object to your assertion that real-world monopolies are always government enforced. Unless you’re being extremely specific in your definition of ‘monopoly’, or liberal in your definition of ‘government enforcement’, I do not think this holds up to much scrutiny.
More to the point, eating something is a biological function, while buying something is a market transaction. Barring outlandish sci-fi scenarios, it’s kind of silly to talk about a company having “a monopoly” on the act of me putting organic matter in my face.
I’ve been thinking about how that would have to work. The idea of monopoly power is that it allows you to exert distortionary pressure on a market. Someone who straps me to a chair, forces my mouth open and feeds me grapefruit doesn’t hold a monopoly over what I eat; they’re forcibly coercing me.
The only way I can immediately think of someone having monopoly power over what went into my mouth is if they owned my mouth, or rented a mouth out for me to eat with, (or talk, or do whatever it is I like to do with my mouth), and their enforceable terms of service stipulated I could only eat certain things.
That’s just forcible coercion, not exercising monopoly power.
Monopoly is about being able to charge higher prices for inferior products because you’re the only supplier in town, not because you’re the only one with a gun.
Every industry by definition has a monopoly on what you can buy, since new entrants into the field instantly become part of that industry. Using the word “monopoly” in this way abuses the word and makes it meaningless.
Some food is grown or killed by people for personal consumption. Some of that is shared or traded between rural neighbours. Therefore, rural living can indeed mean that the food industry doesn’t have a monopoly on what you eat. (I’m eating fresh strawberry from my parents’ garden/store right now. It’s great.)
(Remember checking assumptions every once in a while!)
Since you can do almost anything for yourself or your family, your claim is also an example of: “Using the word “monopoly” in this way abuses the word and makes it meaningless.” Except for the only real-world monopolies, which are always government enforced.
I nearly wrote a cranky response along these lines, but then I re-read it. Note the words in bold. Monopoly is about market power, not brute force coercion at point of consumption. The OP made two errors in the use of the word ‘monopoly’. This response objected to one, and Multiheaded’s response caught another.
I’d also object to your assertion that real-world monopolies are always government enforced. Unless you’re being extremely specific in your definition of ‘monopoly’, or liberal in your definition of ‘government enforcement’, I do not think this holds up to much scrutiny.
More to the point, eating something is a biological function, while buying something is a market transaction. Barring outlandish sci-fi scenarios, it’s kind of silly to talk about a company having “a monopoly” on the act of me putting organic matter in my face.
Gastro-weirdtopia.
I’ve been thinking about how that would have to work. The idea of monopoly power is that it allows you to exert distortionary pressure on a market. Someone who straps me to a chair, forces my mouth open and feeds me grapefruit doesn’t hold a monopoly over what I eat; they’re forcibly coercing me.
The only way I can immediately think of someone having monopoly power over what went into my mouth is if they owned my mouth, or rented a mouth out for me to eat with, (or talk, or do whatever it is I like to do with my mouth), and their enforceable terms of service stipulated I could only eat certain things.
That’s actually genuinely horrifying.
What if it was a monopoly of your past-self, using some sort of implant as an anti-akrasia dieting mechanism?
That’s just forcible coercion, not exercising monopoly power.
Monopoly is about being able to charge higher prices for inferior products because you’re the only supplier in town, not because you’re the only one with a gun.