202402251452 Success to the successful

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Also known by the saying "the rich get richer" or in ecology "the competitive exclusion principle", the "success to the successful" trap of systems theory is that an actor's previous success advantages them towards success in the future. This results in a feedback cycle where only initial winners continue to win.¹

Marx observed that similar to ecological competition, market competition systematically eliminates market competition rather than encouraging it. This has been proven true economically many times over in the spanning years in the automotive, tech, telecommunications markets and many more. Thus, regulation such as anti-trust, "leveling the playing field" taxation, social norms (noblesse oblige), diversification of the system, or strengthening the weaker actors are required to get out of this systematic trap.