Competition is not the universal panacea for all ills, as most seem to believe. The fundamental <i>raison de'tre</i> of private business is profit, with the measure of success most commonly measured by the profit levels achieved. Unregulated competition invariably has the tragic consequence of an utter disregard for those aspects equally of relevance to the ultimate success of a business, due to the pursuance of profit in an unregulated environment. Hence Mervyn King's 'triple bottom-line', or whatever it was called. Unregulated competition results in back-handers and greasing of palms, price collusion, supplier lockout, and so the list goes on. Sure, from a consumer's point of view the short-term benefits are great, as competition invariably results in the lowering of consumer prices - but this is usually not sustainable, due to price elasticity factors. Moral of the story: partial regulation is necessary in an environment where relative freedoms of supply and demand are guaranteed...
