pie
it takes flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon, apples, and labor to make pie. the pie maker combines all the ingredients together following their secret recipe. the value of the pie is greater than the sum total values of all the ingredients. the pie maker can sell the pie for enough money to re-buy all the ingredients. with some profit left over. that's pretty much how most companies work. now suppose i sell apples. and i assassinate the competition. so now if you want to make pie, you have to buy apples from me. so now instead of paying the free market price, you have to pay the monopoly price. which is higher. which makes you raise prices and accept lower profits. it's actually a double whammy. cause the higher prices mean you sell fewer pies. which is bad for the consumer. cause they get to enjoy your delicious pies less often. their standard of living goes down. and the whole pie economy goes into a slump. which paradoxically, is bad for the apple guy. but only in the long run. and only if the apple guy is able to compare himself to where he could have been. instead of comparing himself to the sugar butter cinnamon pie guys.