Reference #380: Thinking in Systems

There are several ways to break out of the "success to the successful" trap: diversification, creating balancing feedback loops to keep competitors from taking over entirely, or periodically levelling the playing field.

Diversification occurs when companies of species evolve to exploit new resources, or compete in different markets, and hence no longer directly compete with existing competitors. Note this strategy does't work for the poor, as they have no resources or power to find a niche.

Balancing feedback loops include anti-trust laws that, in theory, keep any competitors from gaining complete monopoly.

Levelling the playing field is the most obvious way out, and comes it many forms. These include sports handicaps, tax laws, and inheritance tax. It also includes cultural norms around gift-giving where wealth is redistributed while increasing the social standing of the giver.

Meadows. Thinking in Systems, 2008. (129-130)

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