[p2p-research] Blog on Political Economy of P2P

[Tomas Rawlings]

I've always felt this is a major hole in capitalism; that all companies 
aim for monopoly, which destroys competition. 

In addition while competing against other companies using better 
products, price and services is one method to achieve this monopoly (and 
the one in theory companies are supposed to use), once a company reaches 
a certain size, other options become open to it; competing using legal 
and financial muscle, so 'buying' legal influence to alter the business 
environment to favour you and disenfranchise your competitors, buying 
then closing competing companies and dramatic temporarily price wars to 
knock the competition out of the game.

In a post-capitalist economy where much of the wealth resides in a 
commons; I guess it could be the commons that has the monopoly position, 
thereby fixing this problem?
>
> Monopoly is a major problem in capitalism.  It necessitates regulatory
> workarounds.  Socialism assumes government or "people's" monopolies also
> leading to various problems.  In those cases, there is no one to regulate
> the state.  My own view is that state monopolies make good sense where
> service-provider commitment is essential or where equality of output is
> valued above all.
>
> Certain functions, I believe, are ideally fulfilled by the state--national
> defense, policing, certain banking functions, certain social service
> functions, public health functions, certain basic health services, some
> types of insurance services, prisons, etc.
>
> What I think is emerging is a poly-system of modes where various production
> mechanisms are optimizing to fit the ecosystem--economies are evolving to be
> more than one thing at once--capalist/socialist/anarchist/polyarchist, etc.
>
>   

-- 
Tomas

-----------------------
Tomas Rawlings
Development Director, FluffyLogic Development Ltd.
web: www.fluffylogic.net
tel: 0117 9442233 
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