From: Jerry Levy (Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Sat Apr 28 2007 - 19:51:55 EDT
Hi Alejandro: Rothbard's argument is, quite frankly, a laughable defense of monopoly power by oligopolies. The lack of a boycott does not signal "consumer satisfaction with the existing state of affairs" (!) and how they allegedly "benefit .. from voluntary exchanges": it rather demonstrates the relative *lack of consumer choices* in an oligopolistic market. Consumers know that if they boycotted one huge corporation then it would only work to the advantage of one or more other huge corporations. Thus to target Wal-Mart (as some have tried, see the movie "Wal-Mart: the high cost of low price") would benefit Target and K-Mart and other mega-corporations. As the above referenced movie shows, huge corporations (in this case, Wal-Mart) have enormous resources with which they use to influence state policy and abuse consumers (as well as workers, domestically and internationally, the environment, etc.). For instance, there have been hundreds of physical assaults (including homicides) on consumers in Wal-Mart parking lots. An internal study found, if I recall correctly, that 80% of these crimes were preventable but Wal-Mart didn't want to spend the (relatively small) additional money required for security. (Many stores have video cameras directed at the parking lot but they were installed, as the movie shows, *to help prevent unionization!*). To say that the lack of a boycott or a successful boycott demonstrates consumer satisfaction with the "existing state of affairs" is apologetics for transnational capital. In solidarity, Jerry I think the Austrian economist Murray Rothbard (Man, Economy and State, Ludwig von Mises Institute 2004) was right when facing your statement: If the consumers were really angry at this “monopolistic action,” they could easily make their demand curves elastic by boycotting the producer and/or by increasing their demands at the “competitive” production level. The fact that they do not do so signifies their satisfaction with the existing state of affairs and demonstrates that they, as well as the producer, benefit from the resulting voluntary exchanges. (pp. 634)
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