Contribution of Industrial Combinations to National Welfare

A combination of either men or capital is in itself neither good nor bad, except in so far as it exercises its potentiality in the one direction or the other.This potentiality stands in direct proportion to the size of the combination and is even greater than the com- bined potentialities of its component parts, just as the purchasing power of a thousand dollars, due to the advantages of wholesale buying, is even larger than the combined purchasing powers of the individual dollars making up this sum.The relation of industrial combinations to national welfare can, therefore, be discussed along two lines, according to whether the combination is a good or a bad one from the standpoint of the common good, or whether it is large or small in size.Eliminating the second differentiation as one of degree only, we must at once choose between the combination which utilizes its potential power

Economics · Market economy · Welfare · Social Policy and Reform Studies