Henry Ford, Joseph Schumpeter’S Creative Destruction, And The Power Of Patents

It is almost impossible to overstate the central role of competition in economic growth and the material progress of mankind. In particular, competition drives entrepreneurs to constantly innovate and to produce new and better products and technologies to capture the hearts and dollars of consumers. The bewildering variety of goods and services we observe in a successful capitalist economy is testament to the power of competition. Conversely, the drab uniformity and bareness of a Moscow supermarket in the Cold War days resulted from the utter lack of competition. Under capitalism, the central role of the government is to referee the competition between private sector firms, so that the best firms win and deliver the best value for consumers. Competition is basically a dynamic — over time — concept rather than a static — at a single point in time — concept. Unlike a football match, which ends after 90 minutes, or an NBA (National Basketball Association) basketball game, which ends after four quarters, the game of competition never stops…