Blog Post #8 :EOTO 2 Post

The Sherman AntiTrust Act of 1890 is an federal statute that prohibits activities restricting interstate commerce and competition in the marketplace. It outlaws any contracts ,conspiracy or combination of business interests  that restrain foreign or interstate trade. This act prohibits conspiracies that unreasonable trade such as agreements among competitors to fix prices or wages, rig bids or allocate customers, workers or markets. These actions that were just talked about are considered criminal violations. 

The benefits of these acts allow customers to buy product at an fair price to reduce the change of monopolies and encourage a competitive market. It helps prevent business from restricting trade when there is no need to since there is an high demand. 

Media Consolidation

The drawbacks may prevent businesses from achieving maximum profits. In a competitive market, companies are unable to become the most profitable because they cannot dominate without legal consequences. 

Monopolies can affect society as a whole. They can dictate ,control and manipulate prices in certain markets. The benefit of monopolies because they control the most profitable businesses while the poor, minorities, women and LGBTQ+ communities may suffer as their voices can not be heard as much. A monopoly could make it more difficult for people to succeed economically as friends and families may struggle to afford basic goods. In our fast pace society waiting for resources or products could make consumers mad. 

Media consolidation is another issue. In the past, many different companies owned parts of the media landscape. Today, only a few companies control it. The benefit of this consolidations is that the companies can become more profitable. The drawback leads to a lack of competition in the market and fewer companies are able to make profits. This is bad for society because it is has less room of new ideas to grow. 

For marginalized communities, media consolidation has fewer opportunities to profit to have their voice heard. You could also reduce access to items for consumers as few options that means higher prices. For our generation, we rely heavenly on technology, the lack of new companies means that less innovation and fewer trends can emerge. The benefit from this situation is being able to gain influence in society and politics, while others have less power. Throughout history, there has been an lack of diversity in media companies, though in the last few decades, there has been more inclusion of women and people of color. 

The Sherman Antitrust Act and media consolidation highlight the ongoing tension between fostering competition and achieving profitability. While the act aims to prevent monopolies practices and promote fairness in business. It also underscores the challenges of balancing economic growth with equitable access. In  marginalized groups, media consolidation and monopolies can exist inequalities by limiting diverse perspective and economic oppurtunies. Fostering a regulatory environment encourages lots of innovation, exclusivity and fair competition  that is crucial for addressing these issues within the marketplace that benefit all members of society.