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The result of a free market is that the better products will always win out. Then if the firms behind those products are well-run, they will use the dominant ma

by elgenie 10y ago

The result of a free market is that the better products will always win out. Then if the firms behind those products are well-run, they will use the dominant market position their products have granted them to try to raise barriers to entry and smother upstart competitors in their crib. "Car company" and "rocket company" are interesting examples, since the "smart, passionate and dedicated entrepreneurs" in those areas needed billions in government subsidies to get off the ground []. And "computer company" includes the software side, with its low capital costs, and the hardware side, where the competitors are firmly entrenched (what's the last laptop/desktop upstart to hit it big?). [] http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-musk-subsidies-20150531-story.html http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-hy-musk-subsidies-2015...

pdkl95 10y ago
> The result of a free market is that the better products will always win out. That is patently incorrect. There are many examples of market failures that produce incorrect, poor quality, or even predatory results. A recent example is the total disregard for security in many (most?) "IoT" products, and the market for lemons[1] is the canonical example of a market that specifically selects for bad results ("lemons"). Note that the latter example of markets not producing "better products" was worth a Nobel Prize. In a truly free market, the product that is most efficient for the market wins. This is often (but not always) the most profitable product. Sometimes it may also be the "best" product, depending on your point of view, because profit (or price) is not the only metric that is used in determining which product is "best". [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons
TeMPOraL 10y ago
Tesla (the "car company") and SpaceX (the "rocket company") should be forever banned from discussions about the awesomeness of free market, because they're outliers. They're driven by a person with clear goals for the actual change of the world conditions, and companies themselves are used only as best available tools to achieve those goals. This is as far from your typical companies and entrepreneurs as one can get.

by elgenie 10y ago

pdkl95 10y ago

> The result of a free market is that the better products will always win out. That is patently incorrect. There are many examples of market failures that produce incorrect, poor quality, or even predatory results. A recent example is the total disregard for security in many (most?) "IoT" products, and the market for lemons[1] is the canonical example of a market that specifically selects for bad results ("lemons"). Note that the latter example of markets not producing "better products" was worth a Nobel Prize. In a truly free market, the product that is most efficient for the market wins. This is often (but not always) the most profitable product. Sometimes it may also be the "best" product, depending on your point of view, because profit (or price) is not the only metric that is used in determining which product is "best". [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons

TeMPOraL 10y ago

Tesla (the "car company") and SpaceX (the "rocket company") should be forever banned from discussions about the awesomeness of free market, because they're outliers. They're driven by a person with clear goals for the actual change of the world conditions, and companies themselves are used only as best available tools to achieve those goals. This is as far from your typical companies and entrepreneurs as one can get.