August 13, 2012
This past weekend, the U.S. men’s basketball team won the gold medal for our country. While their win was expected, it was not guaranteed. Close games against Lithuania and Argentina reminded us of how much the level of competition in basketball has increased since 1992.
The 1992 summer games were significant for the U.S. because it was the first time U.S. professional athletes were permitted to compete in the Olympics, launching what is still known today as the Dream Team. According to Heritage’s Rich Tucker:
The competition seemed unfair at the time. All it seemed to do was highlight just how much better the best American basketball players were than the best players from everywhere else. However, such open competition actually helped the rest of the world to raise its game.
Competition ultimately benefits everyone, Tucker goes on to explain its role in the economy:
No company or country can maintain an edge indefinitely. Free trade and open competition help poorer countries focus on things they can do well and raise their living standards. And that’s exactly what’s been happening, under American leadership, for several decades.
Do you think a competitive market is a healthy market?
William Grey - August 14, 2012
A competitive market place is the ensign of prosperity. No competition is the doom of civilization.