Can you provide an example of something that couldn't be built by a cooperative formed by a number of smaller companies, each trying to solve a part of the problem in an economically viable way?

I don't think there is anything that can't be built. It's me a matter of the increased expense and inefficiency making things too expensive to be practical.

Lots of products society would benefit from are cut already with the current status quo as they wouldn't bring enough profits or VC style growth.

- Products that significantly benefit from vertical integration like Tesla and iPhone

- Apple throwing around their 800lb gorilla weight to have better user privacy and bankroll TSMC’s latest process node

- Apple being able to afford gigantic SoC dies in iPhone, compared to android where manufacturers nickel and dime on the SoC and users get flaming pieces of shit clocked to high heaven

All those things could be accomplished by a group of businesses entering collective purchasing agreements, without giving one company the power to punish governments.

i like that apple has the power to punish the EU over chat control, for example