Peter Thiel's ideas about monopolies are ill-conceived.
In a competitive industry the life of corporations might be brutish, nasty and short. Yes. But the life of workers and customers can be quite nice---since companies are competing for them, too.
What are some examples of competitive industries with top-of-band comp? Based on what I've seen, when the going gets tough, companies would rather squeeze their workers than their investors (airline companies and pilots), since compensation falls within a range.
Do keep in mind that industries can be (un-) competitive in different ways. Eg there's a good argument to be made that banks don't compete in competitive markets for many of their products, but they sure compete for labour.
In a competitive industry the life of corporations might be brutish, nasty and short. Yes. But the life of workers and customers can be quite nice---since companies are competing for them, too.