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Interesting ideas, but the economics are bogus. Saying that successful companies avoid competition is like saying Joyce Gracie avoided competition in the early

by swatow 12y ago

Interesting ideas, but the economics are bogus. Saying that successful companies avoid competition is like saying Joyce Gracie avoided competition in the early days of the UFC. Being so much better than you opponents that you beat then easily is not avoiding competition. When people praise competition they are praising the conditions under which all people are able to complete for the same market ex ante. If one company develops a technology that renders others unable to compete, then they become a monopolist ex post. But it is the ex ante competition that allowed then to enter that market in the first place

coldtea 12y ago
>Interesting ideas, but the economics are bogus. Saying that successful companies avoid competition is like saying Joyce Gracie avoided competition in the early days of the UFC. Being so much better than you opponents that you beat then easily is not avoiding competition. Err, successful companies avoid competition avoid competitions in lots of other ways than "Being so much better than [their] opponents that [they] beat then easily". Those range from: 1) buying out any startup that might threaten them in the long run 2) buyout out political influnce and having laws passed that stiffle competition 3) bullying their customers or suppliers (e.g. Microsoft making specific demands from OEM vendors in the nineties, "or else...") to... 4) downright murdering business rivals in less fortunate countries (Latin America, Balkans, etc).
- quaunaut 12y ago
  And then you're missing Blue Ocean.
- forthefuture 12y ago
  I consider companies competing for the ability to do those things. Rockefeller didn't just buy all the oil, he competed the shit out of everyone and then bought all the oil.
  - coldtea 12y ago
    >I consider companies competing for the ability to do those things. Yeah, just not in the traditional "free market" economic view of competition narration. Instead in a "harmful for honest businessmen, jungle law" way.
- swatow 12y ago
  Err, please consider the context of this discussion, which is Peter Thiel's views on monopoly vs competition. From the article: >I argue that great companies succeed not by competing with everybody else but by differentiating themselves—by becoming so good at what they do that no other firm can offer a close substitute. I wasn't addressing people who complain about things like yor points (1) to (4), I was addressing Peter Thiel's argument.

by swatow 12y ago

coldtea 12y ago

>Interesting ideas, but the economics are bogus. Saying that successful companies avoid competition is like saying Joyce Gracie avoided competition in the early days of the UFC. Being so much better than you opponents that you beat then easily is not avoiding competition. Err, successful companies avoid competition avoid competitions in lots of other ways than "Being so much better than [their] opponents that [they] beat then easily". Those range from: 1) buying out any startup that might threaten them in the long run 2) buyout out political influnce and having laws passed that stiffle competition 3) bullying their customers or suppliers (e.g. Microsoft making specific demands from OEM vendors in the nineties, "or else...") to... 4) downright murdering business rivals in less fortunate countries (Latin America, Balkans, etc).

quaunaut 12y ago
And then you're missing Blue Ocean.
forthefuture 12y ago
I consider companies competing for the ability to do those things. Rockefeller didn't just buy all the oil, he competed the shit out of everyone and then bought all the oil.
- coldtea 12y ago
  >I consider companies competing for the ability to do those things. Yeah, just not in the traditional "free market" economic view of competition narration. Instead in a "harmful for honest businessmen, jungle law" way.
swatow 12y ago
Err, please consider the context of this discussion, which is Peter Thiel's views on monopoly vs competition. From the article: >I argue that great companies succeed not by competing with everybody else but by differentiating themselves—by becoming so good at what they do that no other firm can offer a close substitute. I wasn't addressing people who complain about things like yor points (1) to (4), I was addressing Peter Thiel's argument.