because the profit motive governs capitalism, it should not be surprising that even those companies that preach the doctrine of free competition are willing to sholve it when collusion with other firms, or government tariffs and subsidies, make higher profits possible. how else to explain the fact that the united states forbids foreign companies from owning airlines in america and prevents foreign airlines from picking up passengers at more than one american city? in these ways, capitalism fails to live up to its own ideal. this was something that worried adam smith, who once wrote, "people of the same trade seldom meet together , even for merriment or diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.