8. Myths and Facts About Big Business

Rockefeller, Carnegie, Dow, Hill, and other great American businessmen did more for America than all the big-government programs combined. These men were market entrepreneurs, not political ones. Thanks to government subsidies, political entrepreneurs often built inefficient circuitous routes for many of America’s railroads, resulting in waste and corruption.

Antitrust laws were demanded by competitors who were jealous of more successful businesses, not by consumers. Predatory pricing is a myth. The courts say that you are predatory if you cut prices, raise prices, or leave them where they are. Natural monopolies don’t last long because entrepreneurs see opportunities and move on them. The only monopolies that stand are those boosted by government interventions.

Lecture 8 of 14 from Tom Woods’ The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History lecture series.