Charles Darrow, maybe some people have never heard this name before, but the board game he invented is legendary. Everybody has played it before whether with friends or family and most people love it, even though it causes many fights and conflicts between the individuals. This game is called “Monopoly”, the legendary board game which sometimes brings war upon all its players.
Now imagine if that happens in real-life; how far does it influence the lives of everybody? This actually did happen in the Gilded Age (1870 – 1900). Mark Twain came up with the term “The Gilded Age” for two reasons. First, the corruption in business and government regarding the low pay and long hours. Second, the distribution of wealth was concentrated in the hands of a few industrialists. After the American Civil War in the United States when John D. Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford, also known as the Captains of Industry had control on the economics and politics all over the nation with their power and monopolies. Their employees were also dependent on these monopolies for jobs.
Although some people would say that monopolies do not have a big influence or effect on politics and economics in today’s age as it was in the Gilded Age because there are many huge businesses and companies all over the world, which many think results in less chances for the growth of a monopoly today; this is not the case because companies can develop a monopoly and beat other businesses down and set the wages and prices as low as they wish to effect the economics or the politics, just like the presidential election in 1896 between McKinley and Bryan.
Monopolies have a huge influence on politics, back in the 19th century. In the Gilded Age, monopolies played a big role, so big, that they also affect the outcome of a presidential election, because their campaign was influencing the workers and so the current voters. For instance, in the Gilded Age when the presidential election between Democrat William J. Bryan and Republican William McKinley occurred. American historian and professor at the University of Chicago and University of Rochester Bernard A. Weisberger states in his article “Election in Silver and Gold” that this election in 1896 was “one of the hardest-fought campaigns ever” (Weisberger, 1) because the campaign took place during and after an economic depression, also known as the Panic of 1893. But also, because the campaigns or included business, economic, wages, employers and employees. The business men Carnegie, Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan used money and corruption and financed a lot so McKinley could win the election. This election was really very important for these rich men because the democrats and its nominee Bryan were completely against these big companies and businesses. They wanted to stop them what meant an end for all monopolies. Republican McKinley was on the side of the businesses. At the very beginning everybody thought that Bryan would win for sure. But the republican’s campaign changed everything. Since most of the employees were working for the big companies of Rockefeller and his fellow colleagues, they said that if Bryan wins the election and becomes president, all the employees do not have to come to work anymore the next day. The reason was easy: If Bryan closes all the companies there will be no jobs anymore. So as an employee and voter they got to think about their families and would rather vote for Republican McKinley to keep their jobs and incomes. This actually worked out and McKinley became the 25th President of the United States.
Consequently, after the successful election of William McKinley, monopolies were still around, because the captains of industry had four more years to develop their businesses. William McKinley followed the “Laissez-Faire” Theory, which is an economic system where the transactions between private parties are not interrupted by the government in any things like regulations, privileges, and tariffs. “People believed that government interference with business could have no beneficial effects.” (The Men who built America). The only reason why Rockefeller, Carnegie etc., wanted McKinley as the president of the United States was because he will prevent the intervention of the government into the businesses. Without the intervention the business leaders can continue take control all over the economics and their employee’s lives, because there were no regulations.
Monopolies have different kinds of influences that is also why monopolies have two major names: “The Captains of Industry” and “The Robber Barons”. On the one hand the monopolies in the Gilded Age had a really positive effect on the economics of the United States of America, because they made America to a very economically strong nation. In the Documentary Drama “The Men who built America” by Patrick Reams and Ruán Magan it says, how the “five self-made men: Carnegie, Ford, J.P Morgan, Rockefeller and VanderBilt transformed the United States into a global superpower” (The Men Who Built America). The time after the Civil War and the Reconstruction, between 1860s and 1896 is called the Gilded Age. This time area is known for its impressive economic growth and extremely expansions of major cities. For example, Chicago’s population increased ten times between 1870 and 1900. Also, the technological innovations in this time included things like the telephone, the car, the electric lightbulb etc., as well as the advances in steel production and many other industries. The industrial productivity increased a lot. During this time area, the economics of the United States rose in the fastest rate in its history. The extreme-rich industrialists such as Carnegie, J.P. Morgan etc. added a ton of jobs thought out the entire nation with their businesses. They also donated a lot of their private money to charities. Namely, Andrew Carnegie donated over than 90 percent of his property and said, that this was an “upper-class-duty, the Gospel of Wealth” (The Men Who Built America). In this aspect, they were called “The Captains of Industry”.
On the other hand, these super-rich industrialists were labeled as “The Robber Barons” because the public felt that they cheated on the way how they go to their money, and also dictated it over the average citizen. Although they added many jobs in the nation, they also created the wages by themselves. Literally they were so “powerful that it can rule over people like a government” (Meyer, 5). Setting the wages as low as possible resulted to strikes and protests of the workers against the bosses. In documentary drama “The Men Who Built America” it showed the Homestead strike in 1892 in Homestead, Pennsylvania. When the monopolies decrease the wages down an enormous rate, workers of an industry will create labor unions and try to protest against them decreasing their, already low, wages. The decreasing of the wages were so bad, that some workers only earned $5 a week. The Homestead Act in 1892 was between the “Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers” and the “Carnegie Steel Company”. It resulted in that the strikers were defeated and a major setback in the unionization of the steel workers.
Even in today’s age, monopolies and big businesses can affect workers really harsh. If businesses spread out really big, they do not leave workers large opportunities for different jobs because they are in charge by themselves for this entire category. There is no competition anymore left. Monopoly and Monopsony are closely related. Easier explained: Monopolies are the only seller, and monopsonies are the only buyer. Like the independent journalist, contributing as a writer for the “New York Times” and also the “New Public”, Bryce Covert states: “Monopoly power allows a company that has eaten up an entire industry to fix prices for consumers, driving them higher than they would be if other companies were able to compete in the same market and offer lower prices.” (Covert, 1). If there are no competitions between businesses and industries, one single company can rule their wages, prices etc. all by themselves. And if there actually is a smaller company in the same place, the monopoly can destroy the little business by setting their own prices as low as possible, so all the customers will go to their shop, and so the small business will go broke.
The scary thing is, that some companies do not seem like a monopoly at the very beginning, because nobody was paying attention while there were growing their monopoly power. For instance, “Amazon does not, in some respects, look like a monopoly” (Meyer, 3). Three years ago, in 2015, Amazon had less worth than Walmart, but today it is almost three times more worth than the “big-box-king” (Meyer, 3). A quick statistic: Around 44 cents of every single dollar which an American is spending online, goes to Amazon. Not even close, but the next biggest online retailer is eBay, with only six cents of every dollar.
Even when the conditions were different back then, the problems and issues are still pretty similar. Jobs and politics back then in the Gilded Age were different than today. Back then in the Gilded Age, most of the employees do not have to have a high degree or at least the requirement were not as strict as today. Today in order to obtain a really good job, job seekers need to obtain a bachelor or a master’s degree with in a field. The minimum wage in the United States, set by the US labor law and a range of state and local laws, is $7.25 per hour. And if an employee does not want to work in a certain industry, they still can change their job by learning something different. Education is much easier in the current time age than back then.
However, monopolies still affect the workers. Probably not as the same way back then, but still in their selling prices (and so, also if they can increase their wages, or leave it on the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour) and how they manipulate other businesses and their employees to increase their profit margins. “Monopoly power allows a company that has eaten up an entire industry to fix prices for consumers, driving them higher than they would be if other companies were able to compete in the same market and offer lower prices.” (Covert, 3). In the Gilded Age, the monopolies like Andrew Carnegie’s U.S. Steel or John D. Rockefeller’s Oil refinery etc. controlled the economics of United States. But also, today it is “impossible for employees to leave for a better-paying job elsewhere” (Covert, 3). Companies regulate their own prices, in favor of their profit. The main goal of almost every business person, is to get the highest most possible profit and win. Customers will prefer a company which offers the lowest price and will regard the high-price-companies.
Even though, most of the people would say, that monopolies do not have a big influence on the economic, as it was back then in the Gilded Age. Nevertheless, it still does affect the way how customers think or handle by regulating very cheap prices, manipulate smaller businesses and do not increasing the wages.
Monopolies in the Gilded Age brought many jobs to the nation’s citizen, but they also set the wage very low, why also labor unions were created. Some obdurate Politician took benefit on the monopolies to strengthen their campaigns for their presidential elections, like the one in 1896 between Democrat W. Bryan and Republican W. McKinley, which was won by the Republican because the employees/voters were dependent on their job which were given by the monopolies (in cooperation to the Republican McKinley). But also, today some companies keep their wages by the minimum of $7.25 an hour. They also beat small businesses down by keeping the selling prices as low as possible to make the buyer a favor on their own industry and so other businesses go down and their will become a monopoly. Although most of the people will say that the conditions are different now than back then in the 19th century, but monopolies still do have a big influence on other businesses, the economic and politics.
Back to Charles Darrow’s legendary board game “Monopoly”, it is really obvious how the rise of a monopoly can influence other players. Of course, this is the point of the game to get a monopoly, to leave the other players only one way, and to collect all the money by oneself. Indeed, it is only a game, but however this is also to find in the modern society and ancient history.
08.02.2019