Big Business

For many liberals, big business represents a key national problem - given the growing power that arguably resides in the hands of super-large industries such as Big Pharma, Big Agriculture, Big Media and Big Food. Various elements of the practice and outcomes of these industries have subsequently been examined and “exposed” in a stream of critical documentaries and cultural studies. By contrast, big business tends to not be a major issue of concern for conservatives - especially not compared to anger and concern about Big Government. It’s more typical for conservatives to emphasize the benefits of any business for the community, including big business - seeing the problems arise in external (government) restrictions on businesses as something unwieldy and impractical. Consequently, conservatives are wary of government regulation and will often fight them, believing they are bad for the economy. Libertarians conservatives tend to believe that government regulation almost always favors big business, which uses the regulatory state to create barriers to entry to prevent competition from smaller businesses.

QUESTIONS TO PLAY WITH:

-Is big business a serious problem or a non-issue to you? Why or why not?

-Is the push-back and opposition to big industry justified or excessive, in your view?

-If you have concern about big business, how does it compare to similar worries expressed about big government?