Capitalism (as a life goal, rather than one of many tools in a toolkit) is what makes all that possible. If can insert yourself in the middle of a transaction, and do that long enough, then you can get pretty entrenched to the point where people just expect it to be that way.
I maintain that, if automobiles were invented today, the horse-and-buggy industry would be able to successfully fend them off, based on the path regulatory capture has taken in the last 150 years.
Perhaps I should have said "societal goal". The stark contrast between those countries, and the US, is that the US collectively has this unwavering dedication to capitalism above all else, it seems in practice.
I maintain that, if automobiles were invented today, the horse-and-buggy industry would be able to successfully fend them off, based on the path regulatory capture has taken in the last 150 years.