RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)

Forwarded message:

> From: "Brown, R Ken" <brownrk1@texaco.com>
> Subject: RE: GPL & commercial software, the critical distinction (fwd)
> Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 06:37:43 -0500 

> I do have trouble with the idea of the garment industry being
> monopolistic. About 2 miles from where I'm typeing this, in  Whitechapel
> and Spitalfields in the East End of London, street after street is
> packed with small sweatshops, "import export" businesses, tiny fashion
> houses 

This is perfect if you don't mind being a participant...

Could you get a phonebook and make a list of the sweatshops. Enumerate them
and then select 10% (if that isn't too many) and find out how many and to
whom they sew their garments for?

> It looks as if the only monopolies you recognise are global ones where
> one big company supplies most of the market for some good, worldwide.
> At that level there are damn few monopolies

Remember, you can't dominate a market that can't be saturated and you can't
saturate a local market unless you find a mechanism to keep outside
competition from moving in. Currently this is only possible in very strongly
regulated markets in control economies. This implies that, at least today
because of communications and transportation improvement, only markets that
are global (though it might also work on a national level) can be dominated.
That is an interesting aspect I hadn't hit on so far. I'll add it to the mix
and see what brews up...

Though, it does occur to me that the fact that OS/2 has a stronger faction
in Europe than in N. and S. America in relation to Microsoft may be an
indication that continental saturation is possible. Might be explained by
the fact that most businesses are continental and not international in scope
of sales.

I've got to go back to work now...I'll check in as I get the chance...


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> > I do have trouble with the idea of the garment industry
> > being monopolistic. About 2 miles from where I'm typeing
> > this, in  Whitechapel and Spitalfields in the East End of
> > London, street after street is packed with small
> > sweatshops, "import export" businesses, tiny fashion 
> > houses 

Jim Choate:
> Could you get a phonebook and make a list of the
> sweatshops. Enumerate them and then select 10% (if that
> isn't too many) and find out how many and to whom they sew
> their garments for?

They sew for fashion houses, and there are more fashion
houses than anyone can count.

Even if there was only a single redistributor, there would be
no monopoly, since the cost of entry to the business of
specifying garments, buying them, transporting them, and
reselling them is completely insignificant.

Jim's present day "monopolies" are as utterly fantastic as
his past monopolies. 

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         James A. Donald
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