A Free-Market Energy Blog

The Real History of the Standard Oil Company (Part IV: Pioneering in Big Business)

By -- September 1, 2011

[Editor Note: This five-part series by Mr. Epstein, originally published in The Objective Standard, revisits the Standard Oil Trust controversy on this the 100th anniversary of the breakup of the Trust. Part I reviewed the flawed textbook interpretation of Rockefeller’s accomplishment; Part II sketched the rise of Standard Oil and defended the free-market practice of rebating. Part III examined the missing context of Standard Oil’s rise to dominance.

Part V tomorrow examines the unlearned lessons of the John D. Rockefeller/Standard Oil saga.

If antitrust theory was correct, Standard’s “control” of 90 percent of the oil refining market, should have made the 1880s its easiest, least-challenging decade—one in which it could coast, pick off competitor fleas with ease, and raise prices into the stratosphere.

In fact, the company struggled mightily in that decade to lower its prices even more—while facing its greatest competitive challenges (foreign and domestic), as well as a bedeviling technological challenge.…

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Vindicating Capitalism: The Real History of the Standard Oil Company (Part III: The Missing Context of Standard’s Rise to Supremacy)

By -- August 31, 2011

[Editor Note: This five-part series by Mr. Epstein, originally published in The Objective Standard, revisits the Standard Oil Trust controversy on this the 100th anniversary of the breakup of the Trust. Part I reviewed the flawed textbook interpretation of Rockefeller’s accomplishment; Part II sketched the rise of Standard Oil and defended the free-market practice of rebating.

The 1870s was a decade of gigantic growth for the Standard Oil Company. In 1870, it was refining fifteen hundred barrels per day—a huge amount for the time. By January 1871, it had achieved a 10 percent market share, making it the largest player in the industry. By 1873, it had one-third of the market share, was refining ten thousand barrels a day and had acquired twenty-one of the twenty-six other firms in Cleveland.…

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The Real History of the Standard Oil Company (Part II: The Phenom)

By -- August 30, 2011

[Editor Note: This five-part series by Mr. Epstein, originally published in The Objective Standard, revisits the Standard Oil Trust controversy in this the 100th anniversary of the breakup of the Trust. Part I yesterday reviewed the flawed textbook interpretation of Rockefeller’s accomplishment.

The Standard story begins during the U.S. Civil War. In 1863, the first railroad line was built connecting the city of Cleveland to the Oil Regions in Pennsylvania, where virtually all American oil came from. Clevelanders quickly took the opportunity to refine oil—as had the residents of the Oil Regions, Pittsburgh, New York, and Baltimore. Cleveland had the disadvantage of being one hundred miles22 from the oil fields but the advantage of having far cheaper prices for materials and land (Oil Regions real estate had become extremely expensive), plus proximity to the Erie Canal for shipping.…

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Vindicating Capitalism: The Real History of the Standard Oil Company (Part I: The Fallacious Textbook Story)

By -- August 29, 2011
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Rick Perry's $7 Billion Problem (Texas wind transmission project 38% over budget–$270+ for every citizen in the state)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 26, 2011
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The U.S. Southeast: Renewable Energy Mandates Not (ratepayer blessing; industrial advantage)

By Robert Ross -- August 25, 2011
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Sustainability Lessons from Evergreen Solar's Bankruptcy (Part II)

By Gary Hunt -- August 24, 2011
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Evergreen Solar Inc.: Anatomy of a 'Green' Bankruptcy (Part I)

By Gary Hunt -- August 23, 2011
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James Hansen Smacks Renewable Energy ("The Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy"–and Lovins as dreamer)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- August 22, 2011
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Introducing Murray Rothbard to an Energy Audience (Part II: Roger Garrison Tribute)

By Roger Garrison -- August 20, 2011
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