The Myth of American Competitive Supremacy -- January 23, 2021

  

The Myth of American Competitive Supremacy 

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.