Every runner knows how easy it is to reach your destination when the path is clear and the surface level. But when obstacles are added—say a tree falls after a storm, cutting across the roadway—achieving your goal becomes much more challenging.
A taxi driver in 2016, for example, had to pay $2,000 in fees and go through a 33-step process in order to be licensed in Washington, DC, which greatly hindered cab companies’ attempts to compete with ride-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft. Established businesses considered heavyweights in their respective fields often monopolize resources: Standard Oil controlled 95% of the oil produced in the United States at the turn of the century, and while it took an act of Congress to split it up, its descendants, Chevron