Economists mythologize competition, but under perfect competition all profits get competed away — the market equilibrium is "the heat death of the universe," business stasis, death. "Actually, capitalism and competition are opposites. Capitalism is premised on the accumulation of capital, but under perfect competition all profits get competed away." Real profits require monopoly: a company so good at what it does no other firm can offer a close substitute. Creative monopolists are good for society — they "add entirely new categories of abundance to the world," and the history of progress is better monopolies replacing incumbents.

— In our words · Source: Zero to One (Peter Thiel with Blake Masters)