alt Hacker NewsAmerican economics doesn't allow fabrication of semiconductors even if there is the know how.
Think about how Intel, who pioneered the know how, can't build cutting edge nodes in the levels that they need to make it profitable.
IBM had to sell their fabs to cater to the whims of "shareholders".
It's the greed of stockholders that you need to blame.
TSMC is a publicly traded company just like the others. I'm not familiar with their governance but Google tells me the largest owner (a state development fund) has 6%.
They have a special advantage because they don't compete with their customers, which leads to trust, which leads to customers paying for their R&D for them.
Intel on the other hand just kind of sucks at their job. Skill issue basically. (But they aren't /that/ far behind.)