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Sounds like the economy of scale option produced better results for consumers :)

by tt24 29d ago

toss1 28d ago
If you take the view of a simpleton, sure, it seems "Better", for now, and depending on your definition of "Better". If it is only price, then sure. But remember, the economies of scale first make things more the same and reduce variety, then enable eliminating competitors from the market, thus enabling enshittification at scale (not possible when there are readily available competitors and switching is easy). For prices that are temporarily lower, getting a worse selection of worse products or services and no real choice, then prices higher than ever when the market is cornered, is not better. Yet this is the cycle that has happened for centuries, to the point where it can be considered inevitable if not fought. And it is visible in this weeks earnings reports — corporate profits higher than ever, labor's portion of the economy smaller than ever, inflation increasing, and products universally shittier than ever. But sure, they can go on complaining about how the small store is "ripping them off" whilst taking "LESS" profit from the system and providing a better service. That myopic approach to life, clueless about how things actually work, is what got us in this predicament in the first place.
- tt24 27d ago
  > But remember, the economies of scale first make things more the same and reduce variety, then enable eliminating competitors from the market, thus enabling enshittification at scale Source?
  - toss1 20d ago
    Start with the excellent articles and books on the topic of enshittification by Cory Doctorow. Also, simply observe the economy, without the prior bias of holding paramount values of tropes like "free market" and "shareholder value". Also read about the tendency towards monopolization/oligopolization and how it creates systemic risk in everything from banking to food supply (e.g., the huge network of Taylor Farms supplying dozens+ of brands that seem individual, but aren't, and are now subject to the same deadly contamination risks). Or, just try to buy a concert ticket and observe the overcharges, surcharges, and excess costs, and compare that to the experience of someone buying a ticket for a major band in the 1970s or '80s, before the entire business got bought up by one company. Or, just don't be so deliberately obtuse and willfully ignorant.
    - tt24 19d ago
      Woah, what's with the vitriol lol, let's relax a little bit

Sounds like the economy of scale option produced better results for consumers :)

by tt24 29d ago

Sounds like the economy of scale option produced better results for consumers :)

toss1 28d ago

If you take the view of a simpleton, sure, it seems "Better", for now, and depending on your definition of "Better". If it is only price, then sure. But remember, the economies of scale first make things more the same and reduce variety, then enable eliminating competitors from the market, thus enabling enshittification at scale (not possible when there are readily available competitors and switching is easy). For prices that are temporarily lower, getting a worse selection of worse products or services and no real choice, then prices higher than ever when the market is cornered, is not better. Yet this is the cycle that has happened for centuries, to the point where it can be considered inevitable if not fought. And it is visible in this weeks earnings reports — corporate profits higher than ever, labor's portion of the economy smaller than ever, inflation increasing, and products universally shittier than ever. But sure, they can go on complaining about how the small store is "ripping them off" whilst taking "LESS" profit from the system and providing a better service. That myopic approach to life, clueless about how things actually work, is what got us in this predicament in the first place.

tt24 27d ago
> But remember, the economies of scale first make things more the same and reduce variety, then enable eliminating competitors from the market, thus enabling enshittification at scale Source?
- toss1 20d ago
  Start with the excellent articles and books on the topic of enshittification by Cory Doctorow. Also, simply observe the economy, without the prior bias of holding paramount values of tropes like "free market" and "shareholder value". Also read about the tendency towards monopolization/oligopolization and how it creates systemic risk in everything from banking to food supply (e.g., the huge network of Taylor Farms supplying dozens+ of brands that seem individual, but aren't, and are now subject to the same deadly contamination risks). Or, just try to buy a concert ticket and observe the overcharges, surcharges, and excess costs, and compare that to the experience of someone buying a ticket for a major band in the 1970s or '80s, before the entire business got bought up by one company. Or, just don't be so deliberately obtuse and willfully ignorant.
  - tt24 19d ago
    Woah, what's with the vitriol lol, let's relax a little bit