"Voluntary cooperation and private markets- without government enforced monopolies everywhere you look."
Read Adam Smith. When he said "free markets" he was talking about markets free from economic rents, not from regulation. In fact, he believed democratic regulation was a crucial hedge against the power of Old Money to re-impose monopoly rents, on otherwise free enterprises.
The history of the internet proves he waa bang on. The only regulation has
The government is the number 1 CAUSE of monopolies. It does not prevent them
"The government is the number 1 CAUSE of monopolies. It does not prevent them."
As I said, it can do both. All that trying to make the state "minimal" for the last 4 decades has done is strengthen certain monopolies (eg "IP", "anti-circumvention" to enforce DRM). While undermining its capacity to prevent monopolies (using policy tools like net neutrality and antitrust).
Fortunately the needle is swinging the other way. Useful Idiots who complain about this, and defend the interests of the monopolists, will benefit along with the rest of us.
