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The problem of anti-competition was certainly a big part of it. While these unregulated giants of industry benefited from the protection of tariffs, they continued to dominate their realm of business to the extent that new entrants were virtually an impossibility. I can only assume that pressure was exerted on government to do something, as I'm sure that there were many who were repeatedly frustrated by their inability to enter the market.
When that much wealth is concentrated in so few hands—to an extent that makes our current situation of wealth distribution look tolerable—the question of fairness becomes a prominent topic of what is best for society as a whole. A lack of competition hurts both consumers and workers.
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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