Was any of John D. Rockefeller’s wealth due to the state (e.g., loopholes from regulations, lobbying, patents)?
Yes. Why?
I had always wondered how he could have such a monopoly without the state helping him out, but I didn’t know what parts of the state gave him a monopoly. How did the state help him achieve his monopoly?
For one, he was a banker.
Firstly, please define “monopoly.”
Many people define monopoly as having a high (subjective) market share and being really good at what you do when compared to your competitors. That’s why I want him to define how he is using “monopoly.”
That was what I meant–he had such a high market share. Sorry about the confusion.
Yes, government defines monopoly as anything they call a monopoly, which is pretty arbitrary.
I want to follow up on what I said earlier. Standard Oil benefited from state action the same way other business benefit from state action. For example, patents. Or UPS and government roads. Or a small business benefiting from the restriction of competition by local zoning laws. Or when businesses lobby to get economic freedom.
If you desire an indepth history of him and his company, here you go: http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2008-summer/standard-oil-company.asp