Is Google a monopoly? No. What about the National Association of Realtors—does it deserve this moniker? Certainly not. Did monopoly status ever fit Rockefeller's Standard Oil of New Jersey? Not at all. How about IBM during its years-long antitrust case? Fuhgeddaboudit. Is monogamous marriage a monopoly? You've got to be kidding.

Is the US Post Office a monopoly? Yes. Is the American Medical Association a monopoly? You bet your boots it is. Is the New York City yellow cab taxi medallion system a monopoly? This cannot be denied. When the British ran India, they prohibited anyone else from mining salt from the ocean. Was that a monopoly? Of course it was.

What is going on here? What is going on here is that there are two very, very different types of businesses taking place. They are both characterized in the same manner—as monopolies—despite these gigantic differences. They are as alike as chalk and cheese, as fish and bicycles, as oil and water. We do exceedingly well to distinguish between them. One description is entirely legitimate; the other is a snare and a delusion.

Let us start with the sensible, accurate, historical definition. Traditionally, a monopoly was a grant of special privilege, given by the ruler of the country. It allowed one and only one person, or company, to provide a given product in a limited geographical area. The Duke of London fought the good fight in the battle, and was awarded the monopoly of candle making in that city by the King of England. Or the Count of Monte Cristo did something similar, and the King of France decreed that no one but this nobleman could legally produce wine in that area of the country. Any other person who provided these goods in those areas was headed toward the hoosegow (unless he first purchased permission from the owner of the monopoly).

These are made-up examples of course, but they help answer the question of why the list in the first paragraph are not monopolies, while any of those mentioned afterward are. Will anyone competing with Google, IBM, Standard Oil, etc. be imprisoned? Don't be silly, of course not. So none of these is a monopolist. However, if you drive a cab in the Big Apple or practice medicine without a license or deliver First-Class Mail for a fee, that will be your fate. The prison walls will be opening to accept you as a guest.