By ANDY ANDREWSWorld Futures Institute
At the end of part three it was asserted that monopolies seem to be about money making. If you control something essential to people, they will pay you “money” to get it.
This is a fairly straight forward statement until you ask about where your customers get the money. Money is a convenience agreed to by the people to facilitate trade, the exchange of goods and services. Plus, people have agreed, in some circumstances, to provide services among themselves. They create common, essential products for common, essential use and consumption because of communal essential needs at a “fair” price. Everyone needs water, but at what cost? It is determined by the metric called money.
Money, for the most part, is an artificial product of the government and the government, for the most part, controls its supply and distribution into service. It is “backed” by the government, the monopoly of the people. There are some other forms of “money” such as gold and silver based on their perceived value judged by the individual that are truly tangible. And now there are other, intangible forms such as bitcoins, based on ones and zeros, stored in the mystic vault called a computer network. It is all based on trust between individuals of the society, government controlled or not. On the personal level we use money to, in part, measure our success, including survival, security, and interpersonal bonding plus a measure of how “well” we have done. In the inner competition of humanity it determines what we can get, our reward for work and creativity.
Collectively, we need a distribution system for products and services and this system is generally controlled by the governmental monopoly. It includes the road and rail networks, airspace and waterways, and electrical energy. One could assert that other energy is also directly distributed but it is in a physical form such as coal or gasoline and requires one of the governmental distribution systems already mentioned. As humanity grows, how will the distribution system grow and be maintained?
Focusing a bit on energy, there is strong motivation to convert to solar and wind energy. Will this be done collectively or individually? Today, most of us buy electrical energy from a government controlled monopoly that uses the government controlled distribution system. How will we convert and, as population grows, is it truly possible and sustainable without the nuclear and fossil fuel energy on and in the earth?
Another area of monopolistic control is information, including communication. While it uses the wire networks controlled by the government as well as the mysterious electromagnetic waves, access and distribution is controlled by private organizations, usually computer based. Plus, it is now negotiated and operated on a “global” scale that includes both private and public entities. Can monopolies exist that directly charge us for use or sell our interests to others as a monopoly of customers? They can and do. And in some cases they focus on us as the customer. Is the monopoly of privacy eroding?
Another question is has the business of health care become an entire monopoly or have segments such as medications gone in this direction? The government has adopted a major role in this area, establishing many controls over who can provide the products and what requirements must be met. I would argue that these controls and requirements are absolutely needed but question the efficiency of the implementation, including wage and price controls or lack thereof. What percentage of the medical industry is made up of insurance carriers that also create additional overhead costs for the providers? Or are the private insurance carriers more efficient than governmental entities? Moving on to drugs and medicines, the government issues patents (monopolies) on new drugs for a limited time period that has resulted in many debates about pricing differentials at home and abroad. Then the genetic drug manufacturers become part of the manufacturing and distribution system, supposedly lowering prices. Or does it become a coercive monopoly? Perhaps our perception and definition of monopoly should be revisited.
Next, look at the complex environment of education. Kindergarten through high school education is controlled and run by the monopoly of the government.
Yes, there are other alternatives but they must meet standards established by the government while reducing government costs. Plus, there is a growing need for post high school education and training. These education and training needs are growing in cost, demanding that consumers pay or borrow more and more. Again, it is supported by the government monopoly either directly or through control. And the issue of content must be considered. Here again we see the influence of the governmental monopoly having to deal with an ever increasing pace of information and knowledge growth while the speed of learning by members of humanity remains relatively constant. Who or what sorts it out?
Other areas of concern about monopolies include manufacturing, infinite recycling, and tools where monopolies may impair creativity. And then there is
food and diet and the efficiency of a system we take for granted. Why do we need food credits? There are people that clearly need them but perhaps there are alternate solutions that can empower them to do better. Look at commerce and the financial sector. The monopolies created are causing a major change in our way of life and how we view and trade money as humanity. Where are we going and who chooses the road? Finally, everything is driven by energy, suggesting need will increase with population growth. We are depleting the finite quantities of stored energy in planet Earth at an accelerating rate and have become more aware of the need for using the solar energy arriving every day. But how do we do it, from where does the money come, and who really is in charge? Do we need a global energy monopoly?
Til next time….
The Los Alamos World Futures Institute website is LAWorldFutures.org. Feedback, volunteers, and donations (501.c.3) are welcome. If you prefer to email us, please use andy.andrews@laworldfutres.org or bob.nolen@laworldfutures.org. Previously published articles can be found at https://ladailypost.com or https:////www.laworldfutures.org.