Is Bigness a Good Thing or a Bad Thing?

Bigness is one of the culprits which have caused the major problems facing many economies.

It has distorted the economy in many aspects through various apparatus including dubious collusion between state and business and useless spending.

It is true that Korea was able to rapidly build its industrial base by nurturing scale-intensive industries. So in a sense some may argue that big business-centered industrial structure promoted by the state was necessary to accelerate economic growth. And yet, we have learned the upsides and downsides of the state-led economy many Asian countries have adopted. All in all, it has significant limits. Excessive government interventions do more harm than good. While chaebols have contributed to the economic development of Korea, the concentration of economic power in the hands of a few chaebols has affected the overall health of the Korean economy in a negative fashion both at the macro and micro levels.

If one looks at the U.S. economy, it seems that big financial institutions, big businesses, and big government have been responsible for what the U.S. has become and where it is going.

Bigness has impeded innovation and fair competition, which sustains a healthy economy.

Unfortunately, bigness persists and seems to keep growing.

We may have to live the consequences.