> Size gives companies the ability to earn surplus profit which is turned into long-term innovation rather than short-term fighting for market share. Except wh

> Size gives companies the ability to earn surplus profit which is turned into long-term innovation rather than short-term fighting for market share. Except when companies don't, and instead use that surplus profit for: - lobbying the Government for laws favorable to the company - funding laws and groups that favor breaking up the power of workers (e.g. no increase in minimun wages, anti-labor union laws) - investing that surplus into buying back the shares of the company, enriching its investors There have been some investments in pure research and product R&D, definitely. But expecting companies to invest the majority of gains from centralization into research isn't what we've observed over the past few decades.