Lloyd described himself as “socialist-anarchist-communist-individualist-collectivist-cooperative-aristocratic-democrat.” In 1881, he wrote “The Story of a Great Monopoly” for The Atlantic Monthly. The issue containing the controversial expose of the Standard Oil trust sold out seven printings, and the article is credited with moving antitrust legislation to the forefront of national debate, paving the way for the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the magazine stated in 1999.