Sam Walton never joined local country clubs. Internet-driven disintermediation is forcing competition on business in ways unimaginable a few years ago. The truth is that we all seem to have insatiable demands for products that will meet our needs and desires, whether for athletic clothes or soft drinks. Most people spend whatever money they've got and, given the extremely high levels of consumer debt in this country, it's obvious that many people spend a lot more than they've got. So although business really is competitive, the overall result of that competition is that people are getting richer.
Some people are losers of specific transactions.
They are downsized, laid off, working in temporary jobs or pushed out of business. But today's economy is nothing like 1978's. I was in a class of other ambitious, competitive business students, yet none of us dreamed of starting our own multinational corporations. That was unimaginable in 1978 to everybody except Bill Gates. And yes even though many of the Internet startups are failing now, what a thing to have on your resume.