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Do Monopolies Exist

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Pure Monopolies
Todd Torres
ECO100
Instructor: Robert Tocker
December 12, 2012

"No firm is completely sheltered from rivals; all firms compete for consumer dollars. If that is so, then pure monopoly does not exist. Do you agree?" Fully explain your answer in a way that shows your understanding of “monopolies.”

I do agree that a pure monopoly does not exist. I say this because no matter the product there are usually some competitors. There is the argument that nothing is like the original but it doesn’t take long for similar products to reach the market. Less expensive and similar products often do well because of the consumers desire to keep up with trends. Another reason to exclude the idea of a pure monopoly is the competition. If a truly pure monopoly did exist there wouldn’t be a need to change its product. Even if one company had a truly unique product it still had to compete with other products to distinguish itself as a better product. A company must compete with itself to keep coming up with new and better products to keep its loyal customers loyal. All markets are driven by its consumers. Just as companies have freedom of choice so does the consumer and it is this choice that, to me, makes it impossible to have a monopoly. Let me explain. No matter the product, if the consumer isn’t willing to pay the cost the company has set, it must adjust to the consumers’ demands, because of this dependence on the consumers’ choice I feel a pure monopoly doesn’t exist. I watched an interview on television just prior to the release of the first IPhone. The panel was full of tech savvy analyst and business men but only one thing from that segment caught my attention. While everyone was finding faults and things the Iphone was lacking only one guy said something profound to me, he said “no matter what the problems that may exist with this phone it is the

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