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An oligopolistic market is a one shared by a small number of firms and has limited competition. About the article “The Oligopoly Problem”, the examples of firms in an oligopolistic market that abuse their power are wireless carriers Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. According to WU (2013), “When three or four firms pursue identical practices, we say that the market is “competitive” and everything is fine. To state the obvious, when companies act in parallel, the consumer is in the same position as if he were dealing with just one big firm. There is, in short, a major blind spot in our nation’s oversight of private power, one that affects both consumers and competition”. The abuse of power by these firms have a negative impact on consumers of the products because product labeling would easily mislead several consumers and as such would they will not notice that products like sunglasses, pet food, or numerous others come from just a few giants. For example, while drugstores seem to offer unlimited choices in toothpaste, just two firms, Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive, control more than eighty per cent of the market (including seemingly independent brands like Tom’s of Maine). (WU, 2013)

It is often assumed that consumers are the only ones who confuse oligopoly and monopoly, but the press also does. This is observed in the recent infographic, run by The Atlantic, titled “The Return of the Monopoly,” it describes the rising concentration in airlines, grocery sales, music, and other industries. With the exception of Intel in computer chips, none of the industries described, however, was actually a monopoly—all were oligopolies. So while The Atlantic is right about what’s happening, it sounds the wrong alarm. (Weissmann, 2013)

Yes, I agree with the author’s feelings about the increased government oversight of such industries. The article was of help in my attempt to decipher the question, “Do you agree with the author’s feelings”? I agree with the author’s feelings because it is only the government that has the power to crack the whip on such consumer-unfriendly practices. If that government does not increase its oversight, these firms are likely to form bigger cartels to their benefit at the expense of consumers. I suppose the Consumer Protection Act should embrace the regulations provided under it.

References

Weissmann, J. (2013, March 20). The Return of the Monopoly: An Infographic. Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/04/the- chartist/309271/

Wu, T. (2013, April 15). The Oligopoly Problem. Retrieved July 20, 2016, from http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-oligopoly-problem