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I think one of few good outcomes of monopolistic tech companies, like Amazon, is the degree to which they expose the lie that is American free market Capitalist

I think one of few good outcomes of monopolistic tech companies, like Amazon, is the degree to which they expose the lie that is American free market Capitalist ideology. There’s never been anything other than highly-subsidized State Capitalism and it’s outcome is massive, private command economies in the form of corporate dictatorships. These dictatorships then seek to assume the power of the state so as to achieve a monopoly on subsidization, while at the same starving the ability of the state to subsidize others and provide a challenge to their control.

mattnewton 8y ago
I think most of these state sponsored companies are unintentionally so, at least in the beginning. Amazon was built on state taxes not being applicable to internet purchases in the beginning, which was an unintended subsidy.
some_account 8y ago
And if you become the American Dream (lol), you get to work in a high place inside the pyramid of greed and corruption. I think I prefer a smaller, less insane, country.
- dang 8y ago
  Nationalistic flamebait will get you banned here, same as the religious flamebait I just warned you about elsewhere. If you need to post like this on the internet, please do it somewhere where they don't mind if you set the place on fire. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
Apocryphon 8y ago
Maybe this backlash will lead to a class consciousness forming in the startup community, at least in a weird Frankenstein left-libertarian-ish message of "the big guys are too big, they're harming free market competition"? While Silicon Valley skews 'socially liberal, fiscally conservative', that doesn't mean they are on the side of the monopolies by default.
mortenjorck 8y ago
It’s incredible to me how many comments here citing this sort of thing as common practice are made with the implication that we should be less upset because it’s just how business works, rather than more upset because these injustices are so widespread.

mattnewton 8y ago

I think most of these state sponsored companies are unintentionally so, at least in the beginning. Amazon was built on state taxes not being applicable to internet purchases in the beginning, which was an unintended subsidy.

some_account 8y ago

And if you become the American Dream (lol), you get to work in a high place inside the pyramid of greed and corruption. I think I prefer a smaller, less insane, country.

dang 8y ago
Nationalistic flamebait will get you banned here, same as the religious flamebait I just warned you about elsewhere. If you need to post like this on the internet, please do it somewhere where they don't mind if you set the place on fire. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Apocryphon 8y ago

Maybe this backlash will lead to a class consciousness forming in the startup community, at least in a weird Frankenstein left-libertarian-ish message of "the big guys are too big, they're harming free market competition"? While Silicon Valley skews 'socially liberal, fiscally conservative', that doesn't mean they are on the side of the monopolies by default.

mortenjorck 8y ago

It’s incredible to me how many comments here citing this sort of thing as common practice are made with the implication that we should be less upset because it’s just how business works, rather than more upset because these injustices are so widespread.