I thought I would share this considered what is going on with OPEC. It comes from one of the best economists of our time Milton Frieman.
"A monoploly can seldom be established within a country withou over and covert government assistance in the form of a tariff or some other device. It is close to impossible to do so on a world scale. The De Beers diamond monopoly is the only one we know of that appears to have succeeded. We know of no other that has been able to exist for so long without the direct assistance of the governments. The OPEC cartel and earlier rubbe and coffee cartels being perhaps the most prominent examples. And such government sponsored cartels have not lasted long. They have broken down under the pressure of international competition, a fate that we believe awaits OPEC as well. In a world of free trade, international cartels would disappear even more quickly. Even in a world of trde restriction, the US by free trade, unilateral if necessary, could come close to eliminating andy danger of significant internal monopolies. "
quoted from his book free to choose written years ago.
"A monoploly can seldom be established within a country withou over and covert government assistance in the form of a tariff or some other device. It is close to impossible to do so on a world scale. The De Beers diamond monopoly is the only one we know of that appears to have succeeded. We know of no other that has been able to exist for so long without the direct assistance of the governments. The OPEC cartel and earlier rubbe and coffee cartels being perhaps the most prominent examples. And such government sponsored cartels have not lasted long. They have broken down under the pressure of international competition, a fate that we believe awaits OPEC as well. In a world of free trade, international cartels would disappear even more quickly. Even in a world of trde restriction, the US by free trade, unilateral if necessary, could come close to eliminating andy danger of significant internal monopolies. "
quoted from his book free to choose written years ago.