How do we keep monopolies from forming under a world ruled by Objectivist philosophy?

Stephen Hicks, Ph.D.

December 26, 2023

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min read

Question: How do we keep monopolies from forming under a world ruled by Objectivist philosophy?‍

Answer: I think the answer is freedom, and its consequent, competition. Rigid monopolies can only come into existence and stay in existence by government support, usually prohibiting competition and not allowing freedom of entry. But under free market capitalism, we precisely have freedom of entry and so anybody who has a good idea is free to do so. There’s always lots and lots of people who want to try out their ideas.

And if, in fact, they are good ideas, they will find a market share. Also in a free market, any company that’s large and has a huge market share, sometimes that’s called a monopoly, but if it becomes bureaucratic, if it becomes inefficient, it’s no longer satisfying customer needs, wasting resources; the competition will force it to become more efficient or put it out of business.

About the author:

Stephen Hicks, Ph.D.

Stephen R. C. Hicks is a Professor of Philosophy and a Senior Scholar for The Atlas Society.

He is author of The Art of Reasoning: Readings for Logical Analysis (W. W. Norton & Co., 1998), Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault (Scholargy, 2004), Nietzsche and the Nazis (Ockham’s Razor, 2010), Entrepreneurial Living (CEEF, 2016), Liberalism Pro and Con (Connor Court, 2020), Art: Modern, Postmodern, and Beyond (with Michael Newberry, 2021), Eight Philosophies of Education (2022), and Lectures on the Philosophy of Politics (Spanish translation, Publicaciones del Orden Espontáneo, 2026). He has published in Business Ethics Quarterly, Review of Metaphysics, and The Wall Street Journal. His writings have been translated into 20 languages.

He has been Visiting Professor of Business Ethics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Visiting Fellow at the Social Philosophy & Policy Center in Bowling Green, Ohio, Visiting Professor at the University of Kasimir the Great, Poland, Visiting Fellow at Harris Manchester College of Oxford University, England, and Visiting Professor at Jagiellonian University, Poland.

His B.A. and M.A. degrees are from the University of Guelph, Canada. His Ph.D. in Philosophy is from Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.

In 2010, he won his university’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

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