4 ms·

The issue is capitalism removes the ability for "competition" except as something to either fear or "buy out" - why can't there be multiple copy stores or photo

The issue is capitalism removes the ability for "competition" except as something to either fear or "buy out" - why can't there be multiple copy stores or photo printers in a small town? If one is too busy to get your stuff done, perhaps the other isn't? No one has any issue with 5 barbers or hairdressers or whatever in a town. I dunno. Competition is good for the consumer, it's really bad for a business that's trying to please shareholders, be they public shareholders or private, as in the owner.

BobbyJo 5y ago
Competition results in mutually beneficial relationships all the time. Companies often take different paths solving the same problem, allowing competitors to complement each other down the road.
pedalpete 5y ago
I think you are severely misunderstanding capitalism. Capitalism strongly supports competition. Definition Capitalism "an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state." You may think that Microsoft is the big bad capitalist, but don't forget, in every market they operate in, they face competition. The scale they were able to achieve is not due to "fear or buy out", but rather due to network effects. Google is strong, not because of the product, or because nobody can compete. DuckDuckGo and others are trying, but simply because the muscle memory and brand are so strong. But don't forget, there were LOTS of search engines at one point. In capital intensive markets, you tend to have few competing companies just because of the cost to get started and operate. Look at all the airlines in the US, you may say "not everyone can start an airline", but again, that's not because of "fear or buy out", it's because the cost of getting started and then competing is so huge that you can't raise the capital to do it. Competition is good for the consumer, but I believe (and I accept this isn't generally accepted wisdom) that it IS also good for the business. Competition can push the entire industry forward, which is more engaging for everyone involved in the business as they need to work to keep their position. Think of it like soccer (football), if there were only one team, how interesting would the sport be, or if there were only two, or three. Does any league of sport have less than 10 teams? Probably not because at that level, the players aren't challenged the entire system goes into entropy. It isn't just that the fans lose out, the players also lose out on the opportunity to push themselves to their limit.

BobbyJo 5y ago

Competition results in mutually beneficial relationships all the time. Companies often take different paths solving the same problem, allowing competitors to complement each other down the road.

pedalpete 5y ago

I think you are severely misunderstanding capitalism. Capitalism strongly supports competition. Definition Capitalism "an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state." You may think that Microsoft is the big bad capitalist, but don't forget, in every market they operate in, they face competition. The scale they were able to achieve is not due to "fear or buy out", but rather due to network effects. Google is strong, not because of the product, or because nobody can compete. DuckDuckGo and others are trying, but simply because the muscle memory and brand are so strong. But don't forget, there were LOTS of search engines at one point. In capital intensive markets, you tend to have few competing companies just because of the cost to get started and operate. Look at all the airlines in the US, you may say "not everyone can start an airline", but again, that's not because of "fear or buy out", it's because the cost of getting started and then competing is so huge that you can't raise the capital to do it. Competition is good for the consumer, but I believe (and I accept this isn't generally accepted wisdom) that it IS also good for the business. Competition can push the entire industry forward, which is more engaging for everyone involved in the business as they need to work to keep their position. Think of it like soccer (football), if there were only one team, how interesting would the sport be, or if there were only two, or three. Does any league of sport have less than 10 teams? Probably not because at that level, the players aren't challenged the entire system goes into entropy. It isn't just that the fans lose out, the players also lose out on the opportunity to push themselves to their limit.