• helenslunch@feddit.nl
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    3 months ago

    2 ways to go back:

    1. Corporations become less greedy.

    2. Consumers and businesses stop tolerating abuse and consider other options that will temporarily inconvenience them.

    Neither one seems likely. If it were we simply wouldn’t be here in the first place.

        • Drusenija@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          I’d argue there’s enough difference there to flag them separately. The original number two is more about personal responsibility; choose a different retailer, go to a different place, etc. Voting with your wallet so to speak.

          Government regulation, while it’s still about people pushing back against companies, with the state of most western governments at the moment you can’t assume they will automatically have the public’s back. So there’s a tie in to the personal responsibility aspect by electing representatives who represent your interests, but given that’s not always feasible (either because not enough people share that view to get someone elected or because there isn’t a suitable candidate available to support) I would argue it’s distinct enough to warrant its own category.

          Regulations and anti trust laws would both fall under a government intervention category though I think.

        • azertyfun@sh.itjust.works
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          3 months ago

          You are conflating Consumers with Citizens, a classic pitfall of modern neoliberal democracies.

          Just because people willingly Consume a Product does not mean they think The Product is good or even that it should exist at all. Neoliberalism is unable to acknowledge that, because Everything is a Market and the Market is Infallible.

          In reality, the game theory is such that individuals may not have the means to get out of the local minimum they found themselves stuck in. Prisoner’s dilemma and all that. That’s what representative democracy is supposed to solve, when it isn’t captured by ideology and corporate interests.

          • helenslunch@feddit.nl
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            3 months ago

            You are conflating Consumers with Citizens

            I’m actually not, and my word choice was intentional. If you’re not consuming these goods then you hold no leverage, and probably don’t care.

            • azertyfun@sh.itjust.works
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              3 months ago

              Do you not consume a single Google/Meta/Microsoft product or do you not care about their abhorrent business practices?

                • azertyfun@sh.itjust.works
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                  3 months ago

                  Then you’re knowingly engaging in the consumption of abusive products? Do you not see how you have literally no leverage whatsoever as a consumer?

                  • helenslunch@feddit.nl
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                    3 months ago

                    Its not that simple. Its not a binary do you/don’t you question. Overwhelmingly I do not.

                    • I don’t buy any Apple products whatsoever
                    • I don’t have or use Facebook or Instagram
                    • I don’t use Reddit outside of the Stealth app (I can’t anyway, they’ve blocked my IP)
                    • I use YouTube only with third-party clients and without watching ads

                    Pretty much the only thing I use is a Google account for work, which I have no choice over.

                    I use less than probably 99% of Americans.

    • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      It isn’t just corporations that have ruined everything, it’s spammers and scammers and cybercriminals too. Searching any topic these days is a crapshoot, with a high likelihood of falling into a spammer’s tarpit.

      To me it feels like the internet is evolving into a virtual Dark Forest. We float around in these little bubbles of sanity, hiding amid a yawning expanse of seething chaos.

      • trainsaresexy@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        As long as people need money other people will try to find opportunities to make it, not everyone has the same moral boundaries.

        People have talked about this for a long time it doesn’t seem like there is an idea driven way out. This is the road.

    • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      I’ve said before and I’ll say again. I would use the option on amazon for shipping that says “let your employees pee”. I get my package 2-3 days later. Oh well. I don’t give a shit. I’d rather normalize companies treating people like people. And if I get my limited edition pez dispenser 3 days later, so be it.

      Not like it’s an oxygen tank.

    • SkyNTP@lemmy.ml
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      3 months ago

      1 can be solved with regulation or nationalization. Services online should be public services. Like school, police, roads. You can still have private alternatives too.

    • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
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      3 months ago

      History tells us there’s also a release valve of a swift brick to the side of the head, one brick per billionaire.

      It sounds messier than paying taxes, to me. But I’m not a billionaire, so I can’t say I understand their motives.

      • helenslunch@feddit.nl
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        3 months ago

        That’s great but it takes more than 1, or even 1M people. It has to be enough people that anti-consumer shitfuckery is no longer profitable.