Actually it doesn’t. Cooperation becomes price fixing, so the consumer loses out. There becomes no need to innovate and improve products, nor is there a need to find ways to get lower prices, or to improve service. But if someone has to compete against others providing the same service he has to look for ways to improve the product, lower the cost, and give better service so that consumers have a reason to go to their business instead of someone else’s. That’s why we now have cars with electric starters, antilock brakes, seatbelts, ac, etc. Someone improved the car from its primitive form to draw customers to them.
This is also why community ownership of business and the means of production fails. If there is only one factory everyone has to go to that place — no chance for competition means they can make a bad product and give bad service to people. The same would be true if all mechanic shops were owned by the same person. That person in your dream world being “the community as a whole.” If, ultimately, the business all goes to one person there’s no need to make the product better or give better service. But I f I can go to a competitor, the factories have to compete for my business, and to do they must improve their product, lower their cost so I pay less, and give me better service.
