Mergers until OS
Merging individual industries
Take General Motors and Ford. Currently they are doing all this research, logistics, targeted advertising and marketing, manufacturing etc. in isolation. If they were to merge they can combine all this work, knowledge and logistics to make a significantly more efficient and effective company. They also have access to a larger economy of scale which will drive their costs down further.
These kind of benefits are why we are seeing small business be absorbed into larger corporations and continual mergers. The combination of two companies is worth more than the two companies separate. (There are additional tax incentives to mergers, but that is an additional bonus.) Due to these benefits monopoly laws are required because if mergers occur until there is a monopoly then the final company has no reason to compete with low prices and consumer value.
Regardless of this General Motors and Ford merging would be good for those companies. Let’s take it further. What if all car companies merged? Would the resulting company be stronger? Absolutely, the principle remains the same.
OK, so we have one car company with an incredible economy of scale in regards to manufacturing, a massive amount of research and development and a huge logistical power. They can probably lay off a lot workers due to a lot of the duplication between the companies and become even more efficient. They also need a lot less marketing/advertising since everyone must buy a car from them, they don’t need to compete in that way. They also no longer need to worry about patents or legal battles anymore.
This resulting single car company is much more efficient.
Merging all of industry
Let’s take it further. The one car company is not an expert on technology, electronics or the internet. Let’s merge into this one car company the one technology, electronics and internet company. The car company doesn’t have much to offer them, but they have a lot of benefits to receive in terms technology. Still the resulting company is stronger than the separate companies as now the cars can have cutting edge electronics and technology with extensive internet integration.
What about the human resources company, talent acquisition company and so on. Let’s merge in any related industry that our car company can benefit from. Again these companies don’t benefit so much, but the car company is getting increasingly efficient and productive.
Well the car company benefited so much, let’s merge in other companies to get the same benefits.
Ultimately you end up with one company that combines the majority of human knowledge and expertise. Each specific area such as technology is run by a specific section within that company that has the combined knowledge and expertise of all companies and using this combined learning can operate far more efficiently and effectively than any individual company before the mergers.
This one company is extremely efficient and productive and like the one car company no longer needs to expend resources for competition.
The one company is very corrupt
We have one company that is very efficient and productive, however it has no competitors and thus it can raise prices and provide low value to consumers to maximize profits since people cannot take their business elsewhere.
What is the next merger then?
Government is the benevolent force for the good of the people. The next merger is the complete departure from capitalism and to remove the shareholders of the company and to merge in government (including education, public services etc). Thus the company/government now has a benevolent directive and for this reason will try and minimize the price and maximize value to the consumer.
Isn’t this just Communism?
Well not really. There is still a job market and people receive different salaries and thus they are incentivized to strive.
Won’t this one company become fantastically corrupt?
Well this is the core challenge of such a cooperative system. OS uses the concept of circles and openness.