ABSTRACT
Monopoly is a word which covers a multitude of economic practices and institutions, and even when it has been established that monopoly power exists it may not be easy to determine how the pattern of production or distribution has been affected, or whether it has been affected for better or worse. Socialists were quite content with this development of monopoly capitalism as representing a fulfilment of Marxist prophecy, and believed that large units would be far easier to place under national control, while government departments always found it easier to deal with the representatives of industry rather than with the confusion of a competitive system. The emergence of the joint-stock company has further complicated the issue, both because it is a deathless institution and because of the division which often occurs between financial ownership and operational control.
