It's good that the courts finally look at the price fixing of
the RAM cartel. I think it must become a much bigger lawsuit.
It can not be that these de-facto monopolies keep on fixing
the prices upwards. Even in a very capitalistic society such
as the USA was once (before the orange mafia hijacked the
country, even though in a more recent election the mafia lost
big), capitalism assumes that free market competition lowers
the prices and affordability for the average Joe, as a buyer.
Clearly this is NOT the case here in the RAM cartel. You now
pay like 3x as much as you did two or three years ago - and
the high prices are maintained. That's a cartel. That has nothing
to do with a free market.
I also think mandatory jail times for the CEOs need to happen. It
can not be that they can buy their way out of punishments and
damage they cause against society.
Capitalism does not assume anything. If anything, unfettered capitalism naturally gravitate towards monopolies and rent-seeking, since they provide large and stable margins. The technological progress is an accidental byproduct of efficiency drives, which is an occasional byproduct of economic systems in specific historical circumstances.
Capitalism assume that the government uses force to enforce contracts. Without that capital accumulates with those that have military power instead of those that invests, which is much worse.
in a world where production facilities take multiple years to create, but demand increases a ton in less than that time, I would expect high prices for multiple years, with or without monopoly. The existence of a higher price than in the past is simply not evidence of a monopoly nor something going wrong.
I also think mandatory jail times for the CEOs need to happen. It can not be that they can buy their way out of punishments and damage they cause against society.
Capitalism is defined by:
- the means of production (factories, tools, employees, land,..)
- being owned privately (as opposed to being state owned)
- for profit (so you do not have to live paycheck to paycheck)
A free market is defined by:
- price of goods is set by supply and demand
- the government doesn't intervene (for example through subsidies)
Price fixing is defined by:
- all the sellers (or buyers) agreeing on and therefore setting the price
- price is not set by supply and demand, therefore you do not have a free market