I disagree whole heartedly. There are winning countries for various technologies. Yes there is tech that can be outsourced to another country, passing the winning baton to that country. Countries can also spend a lot on R&D to reach parity with established winners, hence making multiple winners.
Lets use car manufacturing example. Yes North America and Germany became early winners, and eventually Japan and Korea have become part of the winning club. But many other countries are not winning here. There are countries that can only make subpar cars for the local market, or make no cars at all and must import them all.
So if they are winning, what exactly are these countries winning? They are winning money and influence. US and Japan sell more cars overseas, that's more money into their country and into the government's coffers.
And who can say that being an early computer & Internet center didn't privilege America? The majority of big Internet companies are American, and they're now collecting rent across the globe!
Lets use car manufacturing example. Yes North America and Germany became early winners, and eventually Japan and Korea have become part of the winning club. But many other countries are not winning here. There are countries that can only make subpar cars for the local market, or make no cars at all and must import them all.
So if they are winning, what exactly are these countries winning? They are winning money and influence. US and Japan sell more cars overseas, that's more money into their country and into the government's coffers.