Net Neutrality
Capitalism vs Socialism
Stark Campus
Daniel Skiba
Margaret Black
College Writing II
11/8/2010
Economic models continually sweep the globe with debate. Today’s society is far more technologically advanced then our ancestors, but we can learn a great deal from the past. The past shows how capitalism shaped the cable companies and our country. Basic economic rules will show the prosperity of private ownership rather than federal regulation. Whether the result comes via capitalistic or socialistic slander, private ownership laws are continuously targeted for change.
Capitalism is an economic system characterized by private or corporate ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined mainly by competition in a free market. (Merrimam-Webster Online, 2010) The United States of America is considered a “free market”, in some cases. Internet Service Providers own the tangible cables and pipes providing the service of connectivity to the internet. They are the bridge. They own the bridge. In a free market, they can regulate their bridge how they see fit, within the parameters of the law. This same model is expressed by cell phone companies in the communication industry as well as cable companies in the television industry. Cellular phone companies own all the variables that make up their network. They then sell you service to connect to their network based off of their interpretation of what the market will allow. They dictate what you pay, how much usage you are allowed and what types of usages are allowed. Cable companies evolved in the same manner. Once a free entertainment source is now a billion dollar a year industry marked with the footprints of capitalism. Cable companies put forth the ground work to make the cable experience what it is today. In return, they profit from their investments to do so. They also