The document defines a monopoly as a situation where a single company or group owns nearly the entire market for a given product or service. It notes that under strict definitions, a monopoly contains only one firm. The document outlines some potential advantages of monopolies, such as stable prices and revenue for the government, but also significant disadvantages, like exploitation of consumers through higher prices, price discrimination, and inferior goods and services. It concludes that while monopolies can exist in limited scopes due to various exclusive rights, in the current globalized era almost no company has a total monopoly.