I believe the notion of "creative destruction" is considerably broader than
the notion of obsolescence, at least as the term obsolescence is usually
employed. I read obsolescence as implying technical decadence. Creative
destruction might well occur to firm's whose product remains technically
cutting edge but does not meet emerging tastes or changing factor
prices. For instance, steam locomotives in the 1940s were certainly the
best technically ever produced, however, their replacement by diesel
electric locomotives was a consequence of escalating prices for coal.
John Howard Brown