By Larry Romanoff, January 23, 2021
Americans
boast incessantly about their competitiveness and the miracles of their
predatory capitalist system, but on examination these claims appear to be
mostly thoughtless jingoism that transmutes historical accidents into religion.
If we examine the record, US companies have seldom been notably competitive.
There is more than abundant evidence that their efforts are mostly directed to
ensure an asymmetric playing field that permitted them to avoid confronting
real competition. And, in very large part, major US corporations have succeeded
not because of any competitive advantage but by pressure and threats emanating
from the State Department and military.
Xerox
was once almost the only manufacturer of photocopiers in the world. Kodak was
once almost the world's only maker of cameras and photo film; where are Xerox
and Kodak today? More recently, Motorola was the leading manufacturer of mobile
phones; where is Motorola today? US-based RCA Victor was one of the largest
producers of TV sets in the world. Where can you buy an RCA TV set today? Where
are the great Pan Am World Airways and Continental Airlines? Where are E.F.
Hutton, General Foods, RCA, DEC, Compaq? Where are American Motors, Bethlehem
Steel, Polaroid cameras, and so many more? Gone, because they couldn't deal
with effective competition.
