Week 06 Discussion Response-- Monopoly Power

@hattiehughs14 asks, "Will small businesses be wiped out if a monopoly of power happens to America?"

There are a lot of monopolies that exist in the United States today that have not completely wiped out small business America, at least from the average consumer point of view. As companies grow and begin to embark on the road to monopolization, they begin to buy smaller competitors. Most of the time, these smaller brands and companies are run under the same name but are now run by the larger company. An example of this is Meta buying out Instagram and a large number of other social media platforms. Facebook, is quickly monopolizing, especially after the introduction of the Metaverse. Owning most of its industry competition and having an innovative advantage with the creation and execution of the metaverse is paving the road to monopolization. It is removing competition by doing something wildly different and unattainable by competitors, which is the most basic definition of a monopoly.
The ability to start a retail small business is getting increasingly more difficult in modern times because of the presence of Amazon, especially since it is a global company. As they enter more industries (i.e. music, food service, grocery) other companies are suffering. Amazon is too convenient and their brand awareness score is incredible.
I do not believe that small business America will be wiped out by the trend of monopolies in the current times. As long as capitalism is still a value Americans prioritize, and socialism is combated, small businesses will continue to exist. With the trends of sustainability and ethical consumption, people are becoming more aware that buying local and supporting small businesses is honorable and preferred. The climate crisis is becoming a bigger, more pressing issue to a lot of younger people. I believe that this will keep small businesses alive.