What free choice does is nudge the individual back toward pleasing the customer. 

The reason we don't like monopolies is not the monopoly but rather the abuse of the position. That's my theory at least.

kepford

That's a good point. It's easy to get lost in abstract theoretical arguments, but ultimately we're talking about individual actors.

There's no particular reason that someone enjoying a natural monopoly couldn't also be driven to provide high quality products, without charging as much as the market will bear.

Undisciplined

Yeah, this is a good example. I mean you could say a king is a dictatorship. Even a just king could be corrupted by power. But, because the monopoly is clear and simple it is more obvious who is at fault. As a system becomes more complex it is harder to do that.

econ

Are Monopolies Always Bad?

It's a lot like a dictatorship I imagine - it depends on the dictator. Maybe even saints get corrupted when they have monopolistic power though.