Monopoly (Business)

Voice Your Views It is a known fact that tobacco smoking has many disadvantages. Medical research has found that smoking is a major factor for developing several health problems such as lung cancer, emphysema and cardiovascular disease It is estimated that smoking will lead to nearly one million deaths in India by 2010, and 70% of those deaths will occur in men and women aged between 30 to 69. The magnitude of the tobacco epidemic has shifted to the developing world and India is facing a tough task too, since it is also the second largest producer and consumer of tobacco. Medical research has found that smoking is a major factor for developing several health problems such as lung cancer, emphysema and cardiovascular disease. Tobacco smoke contains a stimulant called nicotine which forms a strong physical and psychological chemical addiction The health effects of tobacco smoking are related to the direct tobacco smoking, as well as passive smoking, inhalation of environmental or secondhand tobacco smoke. When the cigarette smoke is inhaled, thousands of chemicals get into your bloodstream and travel throughout your body. These chemicals cause damage to different parts of the body:

Eyes

It is proven that different chemicals in tobacco can cause damage to the macula, which represents the most sensitive part of the retina. The tiny blood vessels can burst through the macula, leading to irreversible damage. Smoking also causes morphological and functional changes to the lens and retina due to its atherosclerotic and thrombotic effects on the ocular capillaries.

Digestive system

Smoking is a risk factor for all cancers associated with the larynx, oral cavity and esophagus. There is no doubt that heavy smokers have laryngeal cancer mortality risks 20 to 30 times greater than non-smokers.

Heart and circulation

The two main effects smoking has on the heart and circulation are:

• an increase in your heartbeat rate,

• a sharp rise in blood pressure

This happens because nicotine attacks the nerves directly, causing the heart rate to rise and blood vessels to constrict. Since smokers have lungs filled with those dangerous fumes, the heart has to pump harder to get enough oxygen to the rest of the body. Smoking can also increase cholesterol and fibrinogen levels in the blood. The heart and circulation diseases caused by smoking include:

• Coronary heart disease (CHD),

• Aneurysm,

• Peripheral vascular disease (PVD),

• Stroke

Lungs

There is no doubt that the tar content of the cigarette smoke directly damages the cells in the airways of the lung. This can eventually cause cancer of the lung or larynx. It can also lead to chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Several factors are contributing to the lung cancer:

• the daily dose of tobacco;

• the duration of regular smoking and

• the form in which tobacco is smoked

Brain

Smoking is linked to the buildup of fatty substances in the carotid artery, the main neck artery supplying blood to the brain, which represent one of the most important factors for developing a stroke. Other dangerous properties of tobacco smoke:

• nicotine raises blood pressure;

• carbon monoxide reduces the amount of oxygen blood can carry to the brain;

• cigarette smoke makes the blood thicker and more likely to clot

Digestive system

Smoking has been shown to have harmful effects on all parts of the digestive system, contributing to the development of many diseases such as:

• Heartburn

• Peptic ulcers

• Crohn's disease

• Gallstones

• Stomach cancer

Liver and pancreas

Almost half of all the bladder and kidney cancers in men are caused by smoking.

Skin and hair

Smoking can damage the skin, mainly the substance called collagen which keeps the skin elastic. Smokers get deeper wrinkles all over their faces because nicotine constricts the tiny capillaries that nourish the skin. Not only that, smokers are also prone to premature thinning and graying of the hair.

Bone and muscles

It is proven that tobacco smoke chemicals are poisons that inhibit the development of the new tissue cells. The tissue of smokers does not get an adequate blood supply to promote healing, thus smokers are at a much higher risk of developing osteoporosis. Beside the fact that smoking causes damage to the health, it can be a very expensive habit! Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day can cost up to $1,800 dollars a year depending on the country you live in.

This course will cover chapters 10, 11, and 12 of Murray Rothbard's systematic treatise on economics, Man, Economy, and State. In this course, you will have the ideal instructor: Robert Murphy, the author of the study guide to Man, Economy, and State.

Chapter 10 contains one of Rothbard's foremost original contributions to economic science: his discussion of monopoly and competition. Rothbard went beyond even Mises in exculpating the pure market economy from the arguments of antitrust-advocating market critics. Rothbard argued that on the free market there can be no such thing as a monopoly price which is different in any significant way from a competitive price.

In chapter 11, Rothbard presents a thorough and completely Misesian exposition of monetary theory. Among other highlights, this chapter includes the most devastating and succinct critique of Keynesianism ever penned, as well as a thorough refutation of Irving Fisher's "equation of exchange" doctrine, thereby discrediting much of monetarism, and undercutting (before the fact) many of the arguments of the modern, quasi-Austrian, "Free Banking" school.

And chapter 12 is a methodical deconstruction of the folly of all state intervention into the market economy. After having spent 11 chapters describing the essence and functioning of the market system, chapter 12 elucidates what happens when government throws a wrench in the gears.

This course is a perfect follow-up to Murphy's previous courses based on Man, Economy, and State. However, having taken those courses is NOT required, and this course stands alone as an excellent study of 3 crucial areas in Austrian theory. This course is well-suited for anyone conversant with the Austrian understanding of the market process.