Are Oligopolies always bad for society? I would disagree that oligopolies are always bad for society because with oligopolies there is really no price competition. Oligopolies are defined as “a form of industry structure characterized by a few dominates firms. Products may be homogenous or differentiated.” (Case, Fair & Oster, pg. 283) In the chapter reading there were very good examples on how oligopolies effect society; while at times the prices may be slightly higher than the cost to produce the item all companies that are producing the item will be within the same price range.