Previously. One of the benefits of a true free market system is that it allows for and rewards creativity, ingenuity, and risk-taking. In this framework as outlined by Adam Smith, the process of "creative destruction," a term popularized by economist Joseph Schumpeter, is inevitable and the permanence of the status quo (e.g. corporate monopolies, outdated skills, etc ) ultimately unsustainable.
If you make a better mousetrap, the world will beat a path to your door; if you make the old mousetrap, it is time to start firing people.
Creative destruction rewards the nimble, adaptable and the innovative. Of course, in the short term creative destruction may result in growing pains that arise from situations for instance where workers with skills that are now obsolete find themselves unemployed or marginalized. No one volunteers to be the proverbial dinosaur, so this advancement is fought and resisted by many (e.g. The Luddites) with various mechanisms (e.g. Burning down mechanized looms). Those that stand in the way can seek shelter and protection from the government via a variety of means, such as "trade protection, government bailout, favorable tax considerations, limitations on competing technology, or some other special treatment." Propagandistic or xenophobic rhetoric, wrapped up in nationalistic mythos ("Made in America"), is also often employed to gain sympathy and exclude the emerging competitor. Thus creative destruction can be impeded, obstructed, and delayed. However, the conclusion is not only inevitable, but a good thing. As Werner Sombart famously wrote in Krieg und Kapitalismus (War and Capitalism): "...again out of destruction a new spirit of creativity arises." That said, Sombart was also a Nazi kook. So...
And you probably just finished reading this and thought, "What the fuck is MRod talking about?!? Post more YouTube videos of things like this!" My only answer is that it's amazing how you can apply lessons from one discipline to a seemingly unrelated one.
[Quotes and inspiration for this entry from Charles Wheelan's amazing book "Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science."]