Regarding the post below, shipping and ships are a technological innovation. The Western railroads were able to charge whatever they wanted because they received large.... Regarding the post below, shipping and ships are a technological innovation.

The Western railroads were able to charge whatever they wanted because they received large government land grants that enabled the creation of monopolies. I don't have the research in front of me, but my guesstimate would be that shipping rates on the Eastern Seaboard, where there was competition, would have been much less.

In any case, the land in the Plains states didn't have much value without the transportation.

Of course technology, whether it be ships or specialized machinery, needs labor to function or provide much benefit. Of course the people with that technology may use it to exploit labor. Of course people may steal that technology or use the government to give themselves an unfair advantage. That does not mean that labor created the technology or the capital.

Truth is, we can't do much without cooperation. That cooperation is arranged through the free exchange of money. It is the proper role of government to make sure these exchanges are of free will and free of unfair advantage, which perhaps more-so in modern times, is an advantage unfortunately provided by that very government.