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Economics
Cartel
A group of companies or countries that secretly agree to control prices and production so they can make more profit.
Cartels work great until someone cheats and produces extra to steal sales. In the U.S. they're usually illegal because they hurt consumers with higher prices.It's like all the kids in the neighborhood agreeing to charge $5 for every lemonade and not compete on price.
Real world: OPEC is a cartel of oil-producing countries that meet to decide how much oil to pump so they can keep prices high and steady.
💡 Cartels seem smart for the sellers but they're bad for everyone else — that's why governments break them up to keep markets competitive.