cartel
A cartel is a secret society of corporations shackling consumers with the rope of fixed prices. Ostensibly about market stability, it is in fact a sect preaching the gospel of profit maximization. Evading government oversight, members discreetly divide spoils like backstage conspirators in an economic cabal. Consumers’ wallets serve as perpetual sacrificial offerings, while competition is merely theatrical. As long as agreements hold, weak-kneed regulators remain mere spectators.