But Vail also ascribed to monopoly value beyond mere efficiency. In his heterodox vision of capitalism, shared by men like John Rockefeller, the right corporate titans-monopolists in each industry-could, and should, be trusted to do what was best for the nation. “All costs of aggressive, uncontrolled competition are eventually borne, directly or indirectly, by the public,” Vail wrote in one of the Bell telephone system’s annual reports. Adam Smith, whose vision of capitalism is sacrosanct in the United States, believed that individual selfish motives could produce collective goods for humanity, by the operation of the “invisible hand.” But Vail didn’t buy it: “In the long run … the public as a whole has never benefited by destructive competition.” Smith’s key to efficient markets was Vail’s cause of waste.
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