NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/comp/os/os2/advocacy/11480

Internet Message Format | 1993-01-03 | 1.9 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Tim Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.os.os2.advocacy,comp.os.ms-windows.advocacy
Subject: Re: Is Microsoft the next Standard Oil?
Date: 3 Jan 1993 16:57:42 GMT
Organization: University of Washington School of Law, Class of '95
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> If they started charging outragious prices for drilling equiptment then
> someone else would start making drilling equiptment and get a piece of the
> action.  The only way that I can imagine that Standard Oil could possibly
> have all of the drilling equiptment is for them to produce it cheaper than
> anyone else could, in which case who cares, or for them to use guns, either
> theirs or the goverments, to stop any competitors, in which case we've got
> a problem.

Here's a third way for them to have all the drilling equipment: tell drilling
equipment customers that unless they purchase Standard Oil drilling equipment,
and do not purchase drilling equipment from others, they will no longer be
sold oil from Standard Oil.  If they control enough of the oil market (because
they were more efficient than the competition, say), they could use that to
dominate the drilling equipment market, even though they might not be more
efficient there.

If you think this is good, examine the former Soviet Union.  The hypothetical
drilling equipment market above is being controlled by one entity, not subject
to market forces.  Does it really matter that this entity is a company rather
a government?

--Tim Smith