Oligopoly

An oligopoly is an industry or market dominated by a few firms selling a similar (undifferentiated) product. This is called a "perfect oligopoly." The few firms can behave in a harmful manner similar to how a monopoly behaves in overcharging customers or otherwise suppressing beneficial competition.

It is to be noted that Democrats often attempt to position themselves against oligopolies, despite having accepting large sums in donations from them, one of the most notable being contribution totaling over $48,000,000 from the oil company oligopoly.

In contrast, Republicans endorse heavily the idea of oligopolies such as the Oil industry, because they claim these companies define the very basic core of capitalism.

An imperfect oligopoly consists of a few firms in an industry or market, but their product is differentiated, as in the car industry.