12 December 2017 - intense competition

Ecological competition is intense, and there is some reason to believe that it has intensified over geological time. The result is that, ever since the start of the Mesozoic, the number of species on Earth has generally increased (with brief setbacks, to be sure). Economic competition is also high and increasing, and the result is that each industry tends to grow up ever faster from diverse youth to mature oligopoly. Moral: We consumers will have more choices if we outlaw mergers.