Telepocalypse

When evil is good

One comment someone made at WTF was whether people who work for monopoly telcos know they are doing evil [in holding back the tide of human progress]. There were many references (including my own) to the big, bad telcos. I'd just like to put my amateur economist hat on for a moment, and pass comment.

I'm in essence in agreement with Professor Milton Friedman of the University of Chicago, who believes that business’s sole duty is to make profit. I think we all acknowledge that there are ethical bounds that surround that mission. You can't bump off your competitors too literally. But declining to extract the maximum from your customers isn't an ethical issue. You MUST do it. And it's a good thing.

Why? Because that's how the price mechanism works. It sends a signal that attracts competitors with better, faster, cheaper products. You can argue that the price mechanism is ineffective because the telcos work to avoid competition by rigging the rules. But that doesn't mean eliminating the monopoly price signal is wrong. Regulated prices just entrench the status quo forever.

So, no, telcos aren't evil. They have no moral scale you can pin them on. They just are. If you don't like it, go set up some competition, or agitate to change the political rules that keep them artificially in business.