If “monopoly” sounds like a word from another era, that’s because, until recently, it was. The term was reliably used through the middle of the 20th century in newspaper headlines and State of the Union addresses alike, but starting in the 1970s, it began to retreat from public consciousness. The story of why carries lessons for how an economic policy’s effectiveness can be its own undoing — and about how people are thinking about corporate power today. Because monopoly is back.

In this piece for The Atlantic, ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell looks at the history of the anti-monopoly movement in the U.S., and how today, as economic concentration soars, monopoly could again be just the word we need. Continue reading