4 ms·
It's funny that you mention supermarkets, because the A&P grocery store chain was from 1915 to 1975 the largest grocery retailer in the US. At its peak in the 1
by fbonetti 7y ago
It's funny that you mention supermarkets, because the A&P grocery store chain was from 1915 to 1975 the largest grocery retailer in the US. At its peak in the 1940s, A&P captured 10% of total US grocery spend. It too came under scrutiny and was accused of being a "monopoly", as its cheap prices forced smaller competitors out of business. And yet despite being a "monopoly", it began to decline in the 1950s when it failed to keep pace with competitors that opened larger supermarkets with more modern features demanded by customers. It continued its slow decline until it completely shuttered in 2015. A&P was once as recognizable as Google or Walmart is today, and yet most people have never even heard of A&P.
Sears too once had a "monopoly" on mail order products. People marveled at how amazing it was that you could order a product, mail in a check, and receive the product six weeks later, all without stepping into a store! Now they're bankrupt.
The whole concept of a business "controlling" the market is ridiculous. Amazon operates in a highly competitive, low margin industry that requires a tremendous amount of logistical overhead to function. The minute they stop innovating, they're toast.
- CharlesColeman 7y agoSo if we just let the market work, I can look forward to finally getting out from under the thumb of FAANG when I'm retired?
- jaredklewis 7y agoWhat exactly is your complaint against FAANG? You are free to buy a Linux or windows laptop, not create a Facebook account, subscribe to Hulu, not Shop amazon, use fast mail etc... Hard for me to get too worked up about tech giants seeing as using them is optional and alternatives abound. I don’t see how my life is made worse if someone else buys a MacBook. None of the things that do irk me about tech companies (security breaches, unethical advertising, spread of fake news, and so on) would be addressed in any way by a breakup.
- majewsky 7y ago> You are free to buy a Linux or windows laptop, not create a Facebook account, subscribe to Hulu, not Shop amazon, use fast mail etc... Try participating in modern society without an Android or Apple smartphone or tablet. It's still possible, but becoming more difficult each day. (And to clarify, I don't mean "leave your phone at home today". I mean not owning a smartphone or tablet at all.)
- RussianCow 7y agoOn the other hand, there are now a couple companies like Purism and Pine that are working on pure Linux smartphones. We'll see if any of them are successful in the long run, but I think that's a pretty good example of the market doing its thing and creating competition.
- jaredklewis 7y agoWell sure, I agree that there are only 2 smartphone OSes on the market. But how is that an argument for breaking up the tech companies? Breaking up the tech companies is not going to produce more smartphone OSes.
- majewsky 7y agoNo, but it would make it harder for them to use that duopoly to gain market share elsewhere through bundling.
- xbmcuser 7y agoBy biggest problem is when corporations start competing on their platforms with their own products which hurts competition FAANG or otherwise.
- fbonetti 7y agoThe fact that you feel like you’re “under the thumb” of companies that provide a majority of their software products for free is really a testament to how wealthy the market has made us.
- LocalH 7y agoThe point is, the products aren't really "free". Maybe in pure money terms, but there is a price to be paid to make use of the services, in terms of data.
- CharlesColeman 7y ago> companies that provide a majority of their software products for free There's no such thing as a free lunch. You pay for that software even if you're unused to putting a dollar-price on its cost.
- daniel-cussen 7y ago> The whole concept of a business "controlling" the market is ridiculous. Amazon operates in a highly competitive, low margin industry that requires a tremendous amount of logistical overhead to function. The minute they stop innovating, they're toast. Those are two examples. What about Standard Oil for instance? AT&T?