For the first time in American history, we had continued mass un-
employment during the entire decade of the 1930's with nine million
unemployed workers as recently as 1939. The major cause was the
exaction of monopoly prices by a few large mass-production industries.
This situation stands out in sharp contrast to earlier depressions, par-
ticularly those before the turn of the century, when large and small
industries maintained a high level of production by lowering prices.

Monopoly is not limited to business organizations; it is a deep-
rooted tendency projecting itself into all phases of human activity. All
organizations, whether religious, educational, social, political, or eco-
nomic, with age tend to get hardening of the arteries and try to pre-
vent any changes which would disrupt the vested interests of the men
running them. One of the biggest problems of mankind is to use the
wisdom and knowledge of the ages for the public weal without curbing
the initiative and creative efforts of each succeeding generation. In
our economic organization the main problem is largely that of balancing
competition, which permits freedom of opportunity and individual initia-
tive, with such regulation from the state as has proved to be highly
desirable in protecting public health and safety and in increasing pro-
ductivity. This does not mean that regional or municipal government
operation of certain segments of our economy is impractical or unde-
sirable, for in certain restricted areas the public has already benefited
by governmental operation of business. Under our democratic form of
government, however, the greatest progress in improving living stand-
ards has been made under competition and free enterprise.

The purpose of this book is to stimulate thinking on ways of main-
taining full employment and high farm income within the framework
of a competitive system of free enterprise. During the past two
decades free enterprise cooperatives and labor unions have made re-
markable progress in curbing monopolies and restoring a balance of
power between farmers, labor, and urban industry. Their activities
have brought "rules of the game" into our economy without resort to
nationalization of industry characteristic in England and other Euro-
pean countries.

Monopolies in American business, however, have become so deep-
rooted that there is real danger that within the next ten to fifteen years
they will again bring about continued mass unemployment. If we expect
to preserve a competitive system of free enterprise, immediate concerted
action by farmers, labor, and urban industry is needed.

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