But absolutely must ensure that it is free market. Since 90s the biggest threat to free markets is not socialism but monopolies and oligopolies. (Even good social safety net enhance freedom of economic activity).
How some mighty monopolies have fallen. Your examples don't refute GP's point, unless you'd like to assert that monopolies and oligopolies don't exist anymore.
> The greatest lifting of people out of poverty ever seen.
How do you square that with the fact that United States, with your platonic ideal of economic policies, has the highest rate of poverty in the developed world?
>How the mighty monopolies have fallen:
>IBM Sears RCA Intel GE Disney Kmart Kodak Novell Lotus Wordstar AT&T Microsoft
>without any push from the government.
How has Disney fallen? Last I checked, they seem to be doing better than ever, and have gobbled up so many IP franchises they look more like a monopoly than ever (Star Wars, Marvel, etc.).
Microsoft sure hasn't fallen either. Windows isn't quite as dominant as before, but MS got even bigger by moving to cloud stuff instead of just relying on Windows/Office.
Sears was never a monopoly of any kind, that I remember. Neither was Kmart, or Wordstar, or GE. AT&T, formerly Bell, was a monopoly and got a huge push from the government in the form of a forced break-up in the 80s. The AT&T of modern times (the cellular company) was never a monopoly of any sort.
WalterBright|1 year ago
IBM Sears RCA Intel GE Disney Kmart Kodak Novell Lotus Wordstar AT&T Microsoft
without any push from the government.
> Even good social safety net enhance freedom of economic activity
No actual evidence of that. The US boomed for 150 years before there was a social safety net. The greatest lifting of people out of poverty ever seen.
dns_snek|1 year ago
How some mighty monopolies have fallen. Your examples don't refute GP's point, unless you'd like to assert that monopolies and oligopolies don't exist anymore.
> The greatest lifting of people out of poverty ever seen.
How do you square that with the fact that United States, with your platonic ideal of economic policies, has the highest rate of poverty in the developed world?
no_exit|1 year ago
The social safety net was a continent's worth of land to settle and develop.
shiroiushi|1 year ago
How has Disney fallen? Last I checked, they seem to be doing better than ever, and have gobbled up so many IP franchises they look more like a monopoly than ever (Star Wars, Marvel, etc.).
Microsoft sure hasn't fallen either. Windows isn't quite as dominant as before, but MS got even bigger by moving to cloud stuff instead of just relying on Windows/Office.
Sears was never a monopoly of any kind, that I remember. Neither was Kmart, or Wordstar, or GE. AT&T, formerly Bell, was a monopoly and got a huge push from the government in the form of a forced break-up in the 80s. The AT&T of modern times (the cellular company) was never a monopoly of any sort.