&gt; <i>Is it possible for a large and dominant system to innovate without competition?</i><p>AT&amp;T held a monopoly during the golden age of Bell Labs, which was one of the most prolific centers of innovation in the 20th century. Google has a de-facto monopoly over search traffic today, and I think they&#x27;re a genuine innovator — or at least trying to be.<p>Peter Thiel writes: &quot;Monopolies drive progress because the promise of years or even decades of monopoly profits provides a powerful incentive to innovate. Then monopolies can keep innovating because profits enable them to make the long-term plans and finance the ambitious research projects that firms locked in competition can&#x27;t dream of.&quot; [1]<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wsj.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;peter-thiel-competition-is-for-losers-1410535536" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.wsj.com&#x2F;articles&#x2F;peter-thiel-competition-is-for-l...</a>