The Myth of the Robber Barons with Burt Folsom

Foundation for Economic Education2 HN recommenders · 2014–2020
40K views · lecture · evergreen · Uploaded 2011-07-05

Hillsdale historian Burt Folsom lectures at a 2011 seminar on the 'robber barons' of the Gilded Age. He argues that figures like Vanderbilt and Rockefeller were market entrepreneurs rather than monopolists.

HN people offer it as a free-market counterpoint to the standard robber baron narrative.

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3 comments from Hacker News

@timtas2014 · in “Free markets killed capitalism”

Sigh. Ideologues drinking and re-drinking their own bathwater. The thesis of this article is nearly opposite of the truth. Capitalism -- the kind we have evolved (call it socio-crony-capitalism) -- has badly wounded free markets. Here's at least a bit of an antidote: [VIDEO]

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@civilian2017 · in “Why Chinatown Produce Is Cheap (2016)”

You might get something out of this article: [LINK] If " Capitalism in America means as close to monopolization and price gouging as possible. " is your definition of capitalism, then you're off. (And I think that may be why you're being disagreed/downvoted on.) If you think that monopolization and price gouging is an emergent property of capitalism in America-- well, then, I wanna see some citations. My (radical, libertarian) view that a free market would only leads to monopolies when they're _market monopolies_-- meaning they've already providing the best service, and will continue to do so. The really damaging monopolies only ever come from government-granted powers. [VIDEO]

@rollinDyno2020 · in “Ask HN: Share your favourite talks on YouTube”

Recently I have really enjoyed: * Joseph Stiglitz on the introduction of informational mechanisms in Economics [1] * Burton Folsom on the myth of robber barons and the great american entrepreneurs of the 19th century. [1] [LINK] [2] [VIDEO]

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