POSTPONED: The Monopolist Assault on Entrepreneurs

**This event has been postponed until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience.**

The yeoman tradition—in which the small property owner and the entrepreneur represent an American ideal—inspired many of the nation’s founders, Thomas Jefferson most notably. Yet today, deregulation and a lax interpretation of anti-trust law make it increasingly difficult for small businesses to even access local markets. Mega chains may be ruthlessly efficient in driving down prices, but their near-monopoly positions create tremendous barriers to entry and competition for the modern day yeoman. Meanwhile, corporate conglomeration in a range of fields limits career choices, opportunities and wages even among the professional classes.

Senior fellows Phil Longman, author of the recent New America white paper Yeoman’s Return: Small Scale Ownership and the Next Progressive Era, and Barry C. Lynn, author of Breaking the Chain: The Antitrust Case Against Wal-Mart (Harper's, July 2006), will provide an insightful look at the evolving fate of the iconic “self-made man” and discuss how the principles of the Democratic-Republican party, 200 years after it first came to dominate American politics, offer a roadmap for restoration of a true opportunity society.

Participants

• Phillip Longman
  Schwartz Senior Fellow
  New America Foundation

• Barry C. Lynn
  Senior Fellow
  New America Foundation

• Frank Micciche
  Deputy Director, Next Social Contract Initiative
  New America Foundation