Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Some might notice how "we" can adopt different points of  view initially, exchange thoughts and observations and opinions, and arrive at something close to a consensus.

I think it would make for a neat experiment.

You could add me to a list of folks "scared" of monopolies of all sorts.  

You could add me to a list of folks "scared" of monopolies of all sorts. 

Don't get me wrong... So am I.

I'm especially scared of the big one HQ'd in Washington DC, and the smaller one HQ'd in Sacramento, etc... Those are the monopolies that charge me their rates of service at the point of a gun even if I don't like the product they're offering. 

So far I don't encounter that in the private market--and yes, to a point you can say it's due to regulation preventing it. But even the monopoly that you claimed, Facebook, I have made my choice. I don't have a Facebook account and they can't force me to. 

F Bookface.

F Lance Armstrong too.

Your gas and electric company used to be a virtual monopoly, with government "controls".  Zoning boards are monopolies, I know how they get coopted.  Governments as mentioned are.  You can home school if you are able, and there are private schools, $$$$.

Commercial airliners are nearly a duopoly these days, and companies like Delta make a point of keeping both around (which aligns with your point nicely).  It's not like the days of the Robber Barons.    Anyway, interesting discussion.

(I do have a FB account, I find it interesting often as not.  A good feature is that it is "free".)

Your gas and electric company used to be a virtual monopoly, with government "controls".  Zoning boards are monopolies, I know how they get coopted.  Governments as mentioned are.  You can home school if you are able, and there are private schools, $$$$.

Commercial airliners are nearly a duopoly these days, and companies like Delta make a point of keeping both around (which aligns with your point nicely).  It's not like the days of the Robber Barons.    Anyway, interesting discussion.

(I do have a FB account, I find it interesting often as not.  A good feature is that it is "free".)

Yeah, gas/electric, cable, phone, etc are regulated monopolies. At least here they still are. 

School is a de facto monopoly. Yes, you can avoid it via home-schooling and private schooling. But due to cost, that's not viable for most. There is also school choice in one additional sense--you can avoid the problems with lack of competition based on where you choose to live. But that just means the most vulnerable, those of lowest means, get trapped in failing school systems with no realistic alternative.

And yes, I've been thinking of Boeing/Airbus this whole discussion. The airlines simply won't let one become a natural monopoly by only buying from one and not the other. It's not in their interests. Although with acquisition, this is a point where regulation comes into play--if Boeing tried to buy Airbus (or vice versa), even if it made economic sense it would be shut down by government.  

I don't have a FB account because I find it hard to suffer fools and keep my mouth shut. But I don't want to engage, so scrolling through a FB feed for me is an exercise in aggravation and willpower. I eventually decided it wasn't for me. Got into it with crazy autism moms in maybe 2013-14 or so and deleted my account b/c I was so aggravated. Restarted it in 2016 when I got divorced (you needed it at the time for online dating apps), found my wife, and then after being aggravated by it again deleted it again. 

I do have Instagram, though. I know it's owned by FB. But it's less annoying and political, and more about funny memes and dog videos, so I actually enjoy scrolling through a lot more. It also doesn't have the social pressure of "OMG you totally have to friend your crazy aunt Mildred and then be subject to her political rants or she'll be incredibly offended" vibe to it. 

I wonder how much, um, collusion, these duopolies experience, either between each other or with clients ...