When Tom opens his shop, Tom and Fred have each other as competitors, so they both need to up their game to stay competitive. This is non-zero-sum value that competition provides. Without Tom, Fred with his local monopoly can be lazy. Econ 101.
I agree that that’s a benefit of capitalism, but it’s a point orthogonal to the one I’m making.
When Tom opens his shop, Tom and Fred have each other as competitors, so they both need to up their game to stay competitive. This is non-zero-sum value that competition provides. Without Tom, Fred with his local monopoly can be lazy. Econ 101.
I agree that that’s a benefit of capitalism, but it’s a point orthogonal to the one I’m making.