You Can’t Have National Resilience Without National Scale
Why America Needs Big Companies to Stay Self-Sufficient in an Uncertain World
In the last five years alone, America has been tested by a global pandemic, various wars, inflation shocks, semiconductor shortages, and cyberattacks. In each of these moments, the country didn’t just need values or vision — it needed scale.
Because in a crisis, good intentions don’t ship vaccines. Boutique solutions don’t stabilize energy markets. And small businesses, while vital to community life, can’t keep entire systems running when the world breaks down.
So it’s worth asking: Who actually kept America moving during the hardest times?
Answer: The companies big enough to absorb the shock.
The Narrative Is Backwards
Critics like to paint large corporations as symbols of greed or globalism. But in the real world, where shelves need stocking, packages need moving, and infrastructure needs building, scale is not the enemy. It’s the backbone.
America’s largest companies are also:
Our largest employers
Our biggest private investors
The operators of the logistics, tech, and manufacturing capacity we rely on every day
In an era defined by economic warfare and global instability, we don’t need less scale, we need more of it, rooted here at home.
Real-World Proof: Big Business Stepped Up When It Mattered
COVID-19: The Ultimate Stress Test
When the pandemic hit:
Amazon became an essential service, delivering food, medicine, and supplies across the country when physical stores shut down.
Pfizer and Moderna, in partnership with government, developed and mass-produced vaccines in record time.
Walmart, Target, and Kroger kept groceries accessible in every community, absorbing cost shocks and deploying curbside pickup at scale.
These weren’t academic exercises — they were life-saving, system-preserving moves that only companies with national infrastructure could execute.
Global Crises and Supply Chain Wars
As Russia invaded Ukraine and China tightened its grip on global supply chains:
Microsoft and Google provided cybersecurity support to Ukraine, protecting hospitals and civic infrastructure from Russian hacks.
Intel, TSMC, and Micron committed billions to building U.S.-based semiconductor fabs, reducing our dependence on China and Taiwan.
Apple began reshoring parts of its production chain and investing in American chip production - not because they had to, but because they could.
These are strategic moves in an era when economic resilience is national security.
Freight, Logistics, and Energy Security
When ports backed up and container ships stalled, Home Depot and Walmart chartered their own vessels, keeping shelves stocked and prices from spiraling.
UPS and FedEx reworked delivery networks on the fly, delivering millions of critical packages daily.
In the face of global energy shocks, large oil, gas, and utility firms ramped domestic production and grid reliability, helping cushion Americans from the worst of Europe’s energy crisis.
It’s these types of moves, that could only be powered by immense scale, that kept the U.S. from completely floundering as the entire world was in crisis.
Small Businesses Matter — But They Can’t Shoulder National Burdens
Let’s be clear: local businesses are irreplaceable. They power community life, culture, and entrepreneurial growth. But they cannot build a semiconductor fab, deploy a nationwide EV charging network, or operate a coast-to-coast logistics system.
Critics who romanticize a purely small-scale economy misunderstand how modern resilience works. It’s not about either/or. It’s about having the muscle to meet the moment.
Undermining Scale Is Undermining Strength
Today, some policymakers want to break up or punish large companies, not for bad behavior, but for being large. That’s a mistake.
If we weaken the companies building our factories, delivering our medicine, and funding our infrastructure, we:
Increase our dependence on foreign competitors
Slow our ability to respond to future crises
Leave working Americans more vulnerable to inflation and instability
Economic populism shouldn’t mean economic fragility. If anything, it should demand American-owned scale that works for American families.
Build Big. Stay Ready.
If the last few years taught us anything, it’s this: When the world goes sideways, the country relies on companies that can move fast, think big, and scale up overnight.
You can’t green the economy, defend the grid, or restock a panicked country without industrial strength infrastructure.
You can’t do it without scale.
So let’s stop treating America’s largest companies like the problem and start recognizing them as what they are: a critical piece of the solution. Because in the next crisis, whether it’s a war, a pandemic, or a cyberattack, you’ll be glad America still builds big.