Remember back when Microsoft was the huge juggernaut that was going to totally dominate the technology industry and take over the world? I do, because I cut my teeth as a political writer and activist by defending Microsoft against the antitrust persecution whipped up against it by envious rivals. One of the arguments I made was that there is no such thing as a permanent monopoly in a free economy because every successful product or company faces the prospect of being made irrelevant by a new innovation. The only way to stay on top is to always be on the cutting edge of innovation, reliably making the right decisions again and again. A company has to continually earn its leading position. And while it's theoretically possible for a company to keep on doing so, in practice—well, let's look at the record.
Trustbusters
Trustbusters
Trustbusters
Remember back when Microsoft was the huge juggernaut that was going to totally dominate the technology industry and take over the world? I do, because I cut my teeth as a political writer and activist by defending Microsoft against the antitrust persecution whipped up against it by envious rivals. One of the arguments I made was that there is no such thing as a permanent monopoly in a free economy because every successful product or company faces the prospect of being made irrelevant by a new innovation. The only way to stay on top is to always be on the cutting edge of innovation, reliably making the right decisions again and again. A company has to continually earn its leading position. And while it's theoretically possible for a company to keep on doing so, in practice—well, let's look at the record.