The real insight of this article is not the role of innovation, but the unintended power given to one particular company structure, the corporation, to be shiel

The real insight of this article is not the role of innovation, but the unintended power given to one particular company structure, the corporation, to be shielded from obligations to act as a public entity for the good of society as a condition of existence. Remember, there are other company forms like a partnership that are not considered ‘legal persons’. This status as an individual person meant corporations could use public goods and accumulate property on a scale that no one person could (because a Corp can pool resources of many people and out bid others) while also being shielded from regulations in ways partnerships were not. The way I think of innovation in this context is this. It may give an initial advantage, but it doesn’t last and isn’t as big of a contributing factor in creating lasting monopolies as is the corporate form and the shield it provides against regulation, public obligations, and even the competition that future innovation might bring.