Antitrust, Chaebols & Hypercapitalism

Monopolies & unchecked power

[TL;DR Capitalism is a double edged sword]

Antitrust

Standard Oil

Big Tech Hearings

Chaebols

Export-led Industrialization

Post Korean War

GDP per capita: France vs South Korea

The Problem With Chaebols

Too Big To Control: Chaebols make up 67% of South Korea’s GDP

Wealth Inequality: The rich get richer

Nepotism: Wealth stays in the family

Good standard of living vs poor economic outlook

Low expectations for future development

Those who can’t keep up get left behind..

Hypercapitalism

Capitalism and industrialization undoubtedly raise the standard of living for a nation. However, we can also see the clear drawbacks of unrestrained industry. Late stage capitalism is a big topic of debate and it is unclear what is the perfect form of economic regulation. One could look to Scandinavian countries with their great emphasis on social care and education, although they do have high taxes. As always, there are huge political and cultural roadblocks for any nation to achieve a more equitable society. It is clear that there is a fine line to walk between capitalistic and socialist ideals to create prosperity. Privatization has brought unimaginable economic efficiencies in some instances, while nationalized firms may serve populations better under conflicts of interest; given no corruption. Antitrust will likely become a hotter topic as the years pass and Big Tech swallows every part of the global economy. With the current rate of progress in US congress, we may very well end up seeing the likes of corporate wars from sci-fi video games.

Corporate Warfare (Cyberpunk 2077)