Would you agree that we should have competing standards? Because that’s a comparable situation.

Please point to an example where competing implementations of a language led to rapid innovation, because I don’t think you will find one.the opposite is what typically happens as the need for compatibility bogs down language development.

gcc itself is a great example. Before that, we had every processor developer creating their own specific compiler. They were all expensive buggy, user unfriendly. Once a standard was implemented, there was no chance they 'd ever upgrade to the next one. Gcc was so much better than all of them. We're now at the point that a new c++ standard is available for users in a few months after being released. A big change from the not yet c89 compilers still in use in 2005

But gcc got a push themselves: from intels compiler and egcs demonstrating optimization can be better. From llvm, demonstrating sanitizers and nicer user experience. From msvc showing a less nasal demon traps.

Gcc was a great pooling of effort, and they now can do more than smaller vendors because of it. But they also aren't a monopoly, and that meand we always are able to see the alternatives for it.