On the heels of yesterday’s mention of “intellectual property” (IP) laws and their flaws, comes this article in The Freeman titled “Hierarchy or the Market,” by Kevin Carson. It’s an interesting piece that goes into a lot more than just IP laws, but here’s part of a relevant passage:

The state’s so-called “intellectual property” laws, especially, are a powerful force for cartelization. Many oligopoly industries were created by controlling patents (for example, AT&T was based on the Bell patent system) or exchanging them (GE and Westinghouse). Patents also enable corporations to restrict the supply of replacement parts for their goods and thus render artificially expensive the choice to repair an old car or appliance as an alternative to buying a new one. This facilitates a business model based on planned obsolescence, large production runs, and “push” distribution.

Think about “planned obsolescence” next time you’re hearing some biotech or pharma analyst talking about patent expirations and generic drugs, and you’ll get the picture I was painting earlier.

By the way, if you don’t support the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) yet, or don’t subscribe to their flagship publication, The Freeman, perhaps you ought to consider doing so.