Yet it faded away into irrelevance.
Plenty of other examples.
Not being in the limelight doesn't mean these old juggernaut aren't still making more money than some small countries. Very few companies that you feel are "dead" are truly in dire straits financially. They've mad their money and still make a non-negligible amount today in the background
Capitalism has been in the US for what, 250 years? You'd think the theory that capitalist businesses grow to take over the world would have been repeatedly verified by now.
>You'd think the theory that capitalist businesses grow to take over the world would have been repeatedly verified by now.
It's not about taking over the world. Ceos aren't twirling their mustaches with a bowler hat. It's about what it's been about for all of humanity: making sure to keep some other part of humanity down so they don't get power.
America's only had one civil war and it was purely to make sure they can keep telling black people what to do, without proper compensation. That's how important that control is to them. Businesses can die and restart, but they cannot get back lost power that way.
Humanity is much better off with companies making all those products and services for us than without, though.
Companies have in fact figured you can be too big to fail and wait until they get their to no longer "please other people" and squeeze them. Or at least, get away with otherwise company killing moves for years longer than they should.