The myth of capitalist innovation

I can't tell you how many times I've been told that without capitalism there would be no innovation and how competition is good for society.

But I don't think you could argue that capitalism is what got us out of caves, what helped us discover fire, tools for hunting, the wheel or many of the most important discoveries that moved mankind ahead. The spirit of innovation predates capitalism and does not need it to survive. In fact, capitalism impedes innovation because instead of allowing good ideas to come to life, it adds the requirements of profitability and the ability to compete. Let's look at a few examples:

An often cited argument from capitalists is that you cannot credibly be against capitalism and use a smartphone. But if you look at how smartphones come to market, one thing is very clear: it's a race to the bottom. It's like they ask themselves "How little do we have to put into the next version in order to make them want it more than the other guys' and more than the previous version?". Not to mention the manipulation of release dates which are far from random and the bitter fights over IP with competitors which belies the value of competition.

Which brings us to my other example: Ridesharing apps. Without discounting the challenges ridesharing apps, their staff and drivers present to civil society, the concept itself makes a lot of sense. Ok, so it's not really a sharing economy but it IS a more efficient use of vehicles not to mention that it is more accountable to users than taxis are and…