It’s not just the huge leaps that make capitalism so incredible. It is also the constant, small, incremental changes that make products better, cheaper, tastier, stronger, and lighter. So explains Chris Berg in Why Capitalism is Awesome.
He explains that Ikea’s idea to pack and ship flat reduces shipping costs to about 1/6th of shipping full-sized stuff. They have staff who obsess over reducing weight while increasing strength, which in turn drives down prices further.
He goes into detail why it is very difficult to create frozen pizzas or delivered pizzas that look good and taste as good as something just out of the pizzeria oven. Constant innovation and competitive pressures have increased quality, appeal, and convenience.
Likewise with crayons, pork, and pencils, constant innovation has made products better, cheaper, and with more selections.
His conclusion:
The brilliance of the market economy is found in small innovations made to polish and enhance existing products and services. Invention is a wonderful thing. But we should not pretend that it is invention that has made us rich.
We have higher living standards than our ancestors because of the little things. We ought to be more aware of the continuous, slow, and imperceptible creative destruction of the market economy, the refiners who are always imperceptibly bettering our frozen pizzas, our bookshelves, our pencils, and our crayons.
Check out the full article. It will be worth your time.
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