Forever: de Beers & Us Anti-Trust Laws

Monopolies are defined as an industry dominated by one corporation, or business, like standard oil. They are a main driver of inequality, as profits concentrate more on wealth in the hands of the few.(Atlantic). A monopoly has total or nearly all control of that industry. They are considered an extreme result of the U.S. free market capitalism. The business own everything, from the goods to the supplies to the infrastructure. This company will become big enough to buy out other competitors or even crush their competitor by lowering their prices to get the other business to go out of business. They will then control the whole industry without any restarted, having the prices be what they want and the product to be in what condition they want

There is just a one person who sells products or services and there are no incentives which help to break this monopoly. There are many monopoly industries in the market. In monopoly, they use patents because they don’t like if someone’s copy their inventions.

The process of producing the diamonds so they could be sold on the market involved many steps which were illustrated in the movie, Blood Diamond. Smugglers like Archer would supply the RUF with guns. The guns would be used by the RUF to intimidate the people of Sierra Leone into working as laborers for them, we see this with Solomon and his son. These men would be forced to dig in the water mines for hours a day searching for diamonds of all sizes. Then the diamonds are mixed with other diamonds all around the world, mixing the illegal ones with the legal ones; this was explained in the movie by Archer to Maggie. When the diamonds are mixed in with the others, no one can determine for certainty where each originated from. It is then distributed to nations where they are made into necklaces and bracelets, and no questions are asked.

Monopolies are quite dangerous economically, and are usually broken up by the federal government, with only two exceptions- electricity, and gas. These are modern examples. A monopoly is the economic term for when a company that makes a product has no competition, and can raise the prices as high as they want. For example, the most obvious and powerful monopoly of the industrial revolution was the railroad monopoly. They made money quite quickly as a shipping company, and destroyed any and all competition as the only transcontinental railroad at the time. It’s leader, Cornelius Vanderbilt came to be considered one of the most powerful people of all time, due to his control over who he shipped for.

Since colonial times, monopolies have been present in the United States’s economy. But as always, with time comes change, and that situation directly applies to the monopolies in this country. A monopoly is defined as the exclusive control of a commodity or service in a particular market, or a control that makes the manipulation of prices possible. Monopolies had a negative impact on the United States due their unfairness to consumers and laborers, they don’t allow for innovation, and they stifle all competition.

A Monopoly refers to a market where-by there is one or limited suppliers of a given commodity to the market.

Adam smith explained that monopoly charges any price that it chooses, and that it robs consumers and makes the countries less efficient and poorer. He also explained that competition means that businesses try to charge the lowest price possible, so that consumers could get the maximum value for money and that if they can buy more, jobs in the economy will be more supported and then the country will grow even more richer than it already is. Adam Smith also explained that without the police stopping competition, monopolies couldn’t survive for very long.

Monopoly isn’t just a board game where players move around the board buying, trading and developing properties, collecting rent, with the goal to drive their opponents into bankruptcy. However, the game Monopoly was designed to demonstrate an economy that rewards wealth creation and the domination of a market by a single entity. Monopoly and Oligopoly are economic conditions where monopoly is the dominance of one seller in the market and an oligopoly is a number of large firms that dominate in the same industry. Even though monopoly and oligopoly coexist in the same market, they do have some differences. In many cases, monopolies arise because the government has given one person or firm the exclusive right to sell some good or service. Since monopolistic markets are controlled by one seller, the seller has the power to set prices too high amounts. Monopoly companies give consumers limited choices on what to pay and what to choose from what is supplied. Oligopoly is consumer friendly because it promotes competition amongst sellers with moderate prices and numerous choices in products. Examples of oligopoly area wireless carriers, beer companies, and different types of media like TV, broadcasting, book publishing and movies. This essay will discuss descriptive section on how monopolies and oligopoly apply to microeconomics; it’s historical backstory, the government involvement with handling monopolies and oligopoly, how it applies to college life and the overall importance to

The story of these infamous diamonds all started with a fifteen year old who found a diamond in his father 's arm. The diamond business started in 1935 when “De Beers” took all control over dining prospects in Sierra Leone. De Beers are a group of companies has a main role in the exploration of diamonds, as well as diamond mining, diamond retail, diamond trading, and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors.This group was founded in 1888, and they are responsible for the problems Sierra Leone is facing today. These diamonds can be found in volcanic pipes. Diamonds are a pure form of carbon in a transparent state. Diamonds have always been a sign of wealth. Historically kings and queens were known for wearing these. Over time many people began lusting over them.

A monopoly market is defined as a market in which a single seller, selling a distinct product faces no competition; therefore, making the seller the sole seller of the good without any close substitutes (The Economic Times, 2017). Monopoly markets results in market power, in which the single seller has substantial influence on the market price. The outcome of one seller gaining market power often negatively impacts the economy as a whole. Moreover, when monopolies occur the government interferes for the sake of the economy. Over the years, the United States has faced numerous monopolies, and the government has had to create policies to ensure the protection of markets.

What is a monopoly? According to Webster's dictionary, a monopoly is "the exclusive control of a commodity or service in a given market.” Such power in the hands of a few is harmful to the public and individuals because it minimizes, if not eliminates normal competition in a given market and creates undesirable price controls. This, in turn, undermines individual enterprise and causes markets to crumble. In this paper, we will present several aspects of monopolies, including unfair competition, price control, and horizontal, vertical, and conglomerate mergers.

Society as a whole has become more and more dependent on diamonds as the years go by. From finding this rare gem in the depths of the earths’ crust, to it now being used as a certain love gesture. The rarity of this beautiful gem has changed, however has the price of diamonds changed accordingly with its value (placed upon by society). This essay will effectively argue that the price of diamonds is too high in the market in the present day as a result of various economic factors. The essay will give information on diamond cartels and how these cartels had been influencing the price of the diamonds. Furthermore, the essay will give rise to the economic theories that affect these prices and how the price is controlled in the market.

Situation: DeBeers Consolidated Mines Limited (DBCM) occupies a major presence in the diamond industry. Discoveries of diamonds in the late 1800s were pioneered in South Africa, in which DeBeers held a heavy monopoly over. Since then, they have cultivated an impressive track record and leadership position. The Central Selling Organization (CSO) controls and regulates the flow and sale of rough diamonds, and was acquired by DeBeers in the 1930s. Due to a stable economy both locally and internationally, DBCM was the world’s largest producer and distributor of diamonds in late 1998. However, just before the turn of the century, globalization and developments in international

DeBeers developed a unique strategy that created a monopoly in the market. They cornered the market on diamonds and controlled the supply so that the value sustained increases year after year after year, and the company was flush with cash. This artificial price fixing led to a situation whereas they could potentially flood the market and create havoc on the economy. The company used several methods to exercise this control over the market: First, it convinced independent producers to join its single channel monopoly, then it flooded the market with diamonds similar to those of producers who refused to join the cartel, and last, it purchased and stockpiled diamonds produced by other manufacturers in order to control prices through supply. (Campbell R. McConnell, Stanley L. Brue, 2005) The DeBeers’ system for distributing stones would not be accepted in any other market. DeBeers had set up a “single source channel,” funneling all diamonds to a clearing house in London, where it brought all its stones for grading and sorting, adding stones it purchased from other mines, as well. They then controlled which stones were released for sale, which controlled the prices. According to the words

3. Description of the IMF Project to Help Africa Crack Down on Illicit Diamond Trade