Posted by
On the Right on Friday, February 29, 2008 10:45:16 PM
European regulators have slapped Microsoft with the biggest fine in history. If any group other than a government entity forced the company to hand over money, its members would be guilty of robbery.
After previously fining Microsoft the
equivalent of $1.2 billion, the European Commission last week dinged
the software giant for an additional $1.4 billion.
Antitrust action is not about creating a
level playing field or benefiting the consumer. It's about taking down
successful companies, in this case a U.S. corporation that European
companies can't keep up with, and protecting outfits that could not
otherwise compete. The rules are made to trip up businesses that are
otherwise law-abiding so they can be controlled — or plundered.
Microsoft has not harmed the life,
liberty or property of anyone. It has committed no crime as criminal
activity is legitimately defined. It attained market dominance by
selling a product that consumers and business want and purchase
voluntarily.
Are there advantages to market dominance? Sure. But rarely does the
dominance last. One of the many beauties of the free market system is
that open competition always brings innovation that destroys the status
quo.
Markets abhor monopolies. Markets aren't static, but dynamic,
churning out change. History shows that unless monopolies have
government protection, they cannot last. Competition, not government
busybodies, has toppled the market dominance and monopolies of more
companies than we have room to name here.