[PKFFW]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Competitors can peacefully coexist, even in a "truly capitalist" society.

I disagree.

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

There is nothing about capitalist society that demands "the strongest must survive by consuming all competitors." You are describing a society of 100% greed and unreasonable avarice, and despite common perception, capitalism and greed are not absolute bedfellows.

Actually Capitalism does demand that all competitors be consumed or subsumed. This is not "greed or unreasonable avarice". It is simply the way of Capitalism. Any competitor is, by definition, taking away some portion of your profit. If there is further profit to be made then Capitalism demands that profit be sought out and claimed.

Remember that "greed and unreasonable avarice" are merely words that are defined by humans. Everyone will have a different definition and these words mean nothing to Capitalism itself, which is merely an economic construct or set of rules.

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

In fact, too much greed can corrupt a market to the extent that all competitors are destroyed, including a top dog that cannot sustain itself after fighting too hard to control its market, and finally leaving a market to more savvy and reasonable newcomers.

Absolutely. Hence why, in Capitalist economies, there are few companies that rule their industry for longer than a few short years or decades.

However, this is rarely due to "too much greed". Capitalism doesn't come in and say "sorry Microsoft, you have become too greedy and I shall now smite you and allow other software companies to take over the industry".

What you describe or are alluding to is when companies become so large and have so few competitors that they believe they can charge consumers too much for their product. Eventually consumers will revolt and not buy the product and the company will fail. That is the greed of the individual company and will lead to it's downfall.

However, there is nothing to say that the company would not simply learn from its error and reduce its pricing to what the market can bear whilst still being the single company offering that product or service.

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Don't condemn a system for its bad practitioners.

I am not condemning anything. I am merely pointing out what can be the only outcome of a truly free market under the Capitalist system.

Hence why most countries have both laws against anti-competative practices and laws preventing true monopolies. If Capitalism truly allowed for many companies offering the same product to peacefully co-exist and compete evenly and openly there would be no need for such laws.

Cheers,
PKFFW