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>The biggest factor perpetuating the free market and the decline of monopolies is tech progress and the MBA-ification of big companies Could you elaborate on t
by Arainach 3y ago
>The biggest factor perpetuating the free market and the decline of monopolies is tech progress and the MBA-ification of big companies
Could you elaborate on this? It's not seen in practice - both tech progress and MBAs are contributors to the condensing of every industry (airlines, banks, supermarkets, office supply stores, appliance manufacurers, food manufacturers, etc.) into fewer and fewer megacorps with monopoly or oligopoly effects.
- FredPret 3y agoMBA-ified companies get worse and worse over time until they fall apart. They become ripe targets for competition and disruption. Take cable companies; they'll probably always be awful, but that also matters less and less. Or Microsoft; we all hate their awful attitude, but that old desktop paradigm just doesn't rule the world of computing anymore. Same with Google and eventually Apple. For the other industries you mention there's been less innovation and competition. But if they ever build up a true monopoly in one of those, it will lead to higher margins for the monopoly (otherwise it isn't one!). And the higher margins attract competition. All the industries you mentioned, especially retail and airlines, are very bare-bones industries that barely make any money. Big operators like Southwest Airlines and Walmart make 1-5% profit in good times. (Banks make more, but there are tons of regulations that prevent competition there, but the upside of those regulations might be a good thing overall).