Conservatives vs. big business?

1904 cartoon about the Standard Oil Trust (monopoly)

“C}onservatives are coming to see that Big Business can also threaten our liberties and the flourishing of civil society.’’

“What I am saying is we should not underestimate the importance of our immediate commercial environment to the forging of a sense of community, and that the shift from locally owned businesses to multinational corporations comes at a cost.’’

“As our attachments, and consequently obligations, to families, neighborhoods, small businesses and charities diminish, I fear that people cease to exercise civic responsibility and fill the empty societal space with whatever appears on their easily accessed screens: reality TV, strident talking heads on cable news, gossip on social media.’’

-- John A. Burtka IV, executive director of the American Conservative magazine, in “Conservatives Should Be Wary of Big Business,’’ in The Washington Post. To read his essay, please hit this link.