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C00002 00002	MONOPOLY SOCIALISM AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY
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MONOPOLY SOCIALISM AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY


	The idea of monopoly is associated in most people's minds
with capitalism, but some of the greatest monopolistic abuses
occur under socialism.  Moreover, still others are very common
when people with a socialist turn of mind operate institutions
under capitalism.  Stanford has many situations where monopolies
have been created with the best of intentions, and where these
monopolies provide inferior services at high cost.  This memo
presents some ideas of what these situations are, but all of them
require further investigation before a definite stand should be
taken.  My hope is that some of them will appeal to the Conservative
Forum as worthy subjects for investigation and that some of the
students will be interested in this opportunity to apply some of
their principles at home.

	1. For a community of its size, Stanford is under-supplied
with all kinds of services - eating places, shops, etc.  It seems to
me that this is a consequence of two attitudes of the Administration
and of much of the Stanford community:

		a. Because the University controls all the land in the
vicinity, it has to take the initiative in making facilities available
for any service.  Its officials are busy, and the public, like the
public everywhere, is not much of a source of initiative.  The initiative
that normally comes from potential providers of services is substantially
absent, because too great a change in University procedures would be
required for a businessman to find it worthwhile to try to initiate.

		b. There is a contradiction between what people say
and what they do about services.  Consider food, for example:  Many
people who battle to have the lowest possible prices at Tresidder then
don't eat there, but go off campus and eat more expensively.

	Here is an idea for remedying the situation:  The University
shour request proposals for putting a commercial building in the
Tresidder parking lot.  This building would contain a parking garage
of sufficient size so that no spaces would be lost, and would rent
space to anyone who wished to sell goods or services he thought the
Stanford community would buy.  Hopefully, the University would not
have to put out any money unless it wanted to invest and would even
receive some money.  My \F1prima facie\F0 position is that the
University should not attempt to determine what businesses would
occupy the building or what services should be offered at what cost.
The only desirable rule I can think of is that the building operator
should not be permitted to create monopolies of his own, i.e. he should
not promise one restaurant operator that no other restaurants would
be permitted.

	The Stanford campus is too large for all services to be concentrated
in one place.  Could a small French restaurant make a go of it next
to the Computation Center if the space were available at a reasonable
rental?

	2. The University has many internal business monopolies: supplies,
building repair and modification, printing, computation.  Many departments
and laboratories find that some of these services are available cheaper
and with better quality and delivery outside of Stanford, but are
prevented by University rules from using them.  These monopolies create
create excess capacity in certain areas, and then point out that
the University will lose money if it permits departments to go elsewhere.
A survey of this situation is urgently required.  I have heard some
real horror stories, but I have not undertaken to verify them.  If
a student group wished to look into the matter, I believe that publicity
would elicit much information from the faculty of various departments.

	3. The University habitually sells concessions such as the
vending machine concession to Canteen Corporation.  In negotiating
these concessions, the University attempts to take into account
the interests of the community in adequate variety and good service.
Perhaps,