Powers of a Monopolistic Anarchy

Powers of a Monopolistic Anarchy

While the Microsoft Empire maintains its status as a vast company of large-scale production, readily contributing to the national GDP, and yielding high interest and profits to its associates, criticism and controversial accusations keep mounting. The thought of a monopoly as the economic device for good business seems almost mind-boggling to Microsoft’s competing corporations, as well as the entire economic community, legal and commercial.

Why is monopoly such an undesirable practice? Why does the Microsoft Monopoly, in particular, violate the antitrust laws, and how far ought the government go in its efforts to regulate and fight such monopoly. What are the economic crimes that Microsoft is guilty of? Is it, in fact, true when the critics argue that, “Microsoft gained its dominance over 20 years... [which ended] with a virtual barrier to entry for rival operating system software markets“ (The Making of a Monopoly). Is it true that Microsoft has eliminated all of its concurrent competition, and stabilized its power to the extent of a complete monopoly. Or is there perhaps a validation for Microsoft’s practices in the saying that everything is fair in business.

Two Theories of Monopoly

Before mentioning the strength of Microsoft’s influence on domestic, as well as the foreign economy, it is crucial to examine the significance of a monopoly, and how it relates to a country’s fiscal structure. According to Webster’s dictionary, a monopoly is “the exclusive ownership and control of a commodity or service in a given market” (Webster’s Dictionary 337). Predictably, thought, there are degrees of control, and thus degrees of monopoly. The economic theory separates the idea of a mono...

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...ectly affecting the consumers.

Perhaps the best solution to Microsoft’s authority would include structural remedies, such as the divestiture remedy, which may be less subject to gaming, but pose the risk of substantial costs. However, other sources suggest that the most effective remedy may be that the government’s victory eases the way for plaintiffs in private antitrust suits to collect monetary damages, which could be sufficient to deter future anticompetitive conduct (Journal of Economic Perspectives). Whatever the approach to resolving this issue may be, it is certain that the Microsoft monopoly can no longer enjoy its precedent benefits. Nonetheless, there remains a grand possibility that Microsoft will be able to maintain its power to at least some extent, due to the fact that their products are needed, and their competition remains inadequate.