&gt; I sometimes like to think of it as not so much a benefit of competition as a risk for monopoly holders.<p>For sure.  It is also a risk for state-favored companies that hold monopolies inside authoritarian regimes.  Their growth will probably be limited to their own country.  Without local competition, it may be difficult to make the leap to global competitiveness.  This is very theoretical as I have no experience.  But I think you can draw some parallels to the way politicians cut their teeth.  They begin at the local level and work their way up.