perfect example, the beast is decaying

As a sample, last quarter Microsoft reported revenue of a bit over $9 billion. If they did that for the whole quarter, their total revenue might be $36 billion. Against a US GDP of 10 trillion. That isn't even a fraction of a percent of the US economy.

Of course Microsoft is more notable for profits than revenue. Let's go with a bigger company. You don't get bigger than General Electric, with the largest market cap in the world. They have also been around for a long time - they are the only member of the original DOW to still be listed in the DOW. How has their quest for world domination gone?

2004 was a good year for them. Their revenues were $152.2 billion, up from $134.2 billion the year before. That's under 2% of our GNP. But they are a worldwide company - I don't know what fraction of that income was US based. However even so, if after a century the most successful capitalist company in history can't manage to get to 2% of our GNP, then the dreaded future of a single monopoly that owns everything is going to be a looong way off.

Cheers,
Ben

Post #192,109 by daemon 1/28/05 2:12:32 PM Reply	perfect example, the beast is decaying from within and without. So your centric vision only holds as far as the ingathering part of the lifespan of an economic entity but doesnt wait long enough for the slow death and dismemberment portion. regards, daemon I love her dearly, far beyond any creature I've ever known, and I can prove it, for never once in almost seventy years of married life have I taken her by the throat. Mind you, it's been a near thing once or twice. George Macdonald Frasier Clearwater highschool marching band [link\|http://www.chstornadoband.org/\|http://www.chstornadoband.org/]
Post #192,110 by mmoffitt 1/28/05 2:15:08 PM Reply	Last I looked, it's market share hadn't diminished much. bcnu, Mikem Eine Leute. Eine Welt. Ein F\ufffdhrer. (Just trying to be accepted in the New America)
Post #192,111 by Booboo 1/28/05 2:18:34 PM Reply	Re: Last I looked, it's market share hadn't diminished much. Look at Apple and Red Hat. They're doing well too. The law is working. Just not as fast as many people wish :)
Post #192,113 by Arkadiy 1/28/05 2:53:46 PM Reply	They just reported best quarter ever Double the profits. Look at the share price. The market knows something... -- - I was involuntarily self-promoted into management. [link\|http://kerneltrap.org/node/4484\|Richard Stallman]
Post #192,116 by mmoffitt 1/28/05 3:11:48 PM Reply	Ah yes, the vaunted market knows all. bcnu, Mikem Eine Leute. Eine Welt. Ein F\ufffdhrer. (Just trying to be accepted in the New America)
Post #192,122 by ben_tilly 1/28/05 3:54:27 PM Reply	But they've stopped growing And their attempts to enter new markets have been stalling at great expense. (See the X Box.) Plus their competitors in several markets are on a growth trajectory (Linux, Apple, Firefox...). None of this bodes well for their future. Cheers, Ben I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)
Post #192,341 by mmoffitt 1/31/05 8:29:47 AM Reply	OMG! They "stopped growing" at 97% market share. Go figure. bcnu, Mikem Eine Leute. Eine Welt. Ein F\ufffdhrer. (Just trying to be accepted in the New America)
Post #192,361 by ben_tilly 1/31/05 12:02:00 PM Reply	As pointed out already, no company has come close to that As a sample, last quarter Microsoft reported revenue of a bit over $9 billion. If they did that for the whole quarter, their total revenue might be $36 billion. Against a US GDP of 10 trillion. That isn't even a fraction of a percent of the US economy. Of course Microsoft is more notable for profits than revenue. Let's go with a bigger company. You don't get bigger than General Electric, with the largest market cap in the world. They have also been around for a long time - they are the only member of the original DOW to still be listed in the DOW. How has their quest for world domination gone? 2004 was a good year for them. Their revenues were $152.2 billion, up from $134.2 billion the year before. That's under 2% of our GNP. But they are a worldwide company - I don't know what fraction of that income was US based. However even so, if after a century the most successful capitalist company in history can't manage to get to 2% of our GNP, then the dreaded future of a single monopoly that owns everything is going to be a looong way off. Cheers, Ben I have come to believe that idealism without discipline is a quick road to disaster, while discipline without idealism is pointless. -- Aaron Ward (my brother)

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