Google Critic Ousted from Think Tank Funded by the Tech Giant

Post by visarga » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 8:09 PM UTC

ep103 wrote: post #286

hwillis wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's one anti-corporate idea that I've always thought was interesting but AFAIK isn't discussed by anyone: small-corporation libertarianism. In general libertarians are too concerned with government but almost all of them (plus neoliberals and many financially conservative folks) can agree that competition is at least one of their most important economic tenants. Competition is balanced against economies of scale…

That was the norm up until IIRC reagan, Bush 1. The reason we switched off of it, was around that time, the idea was the allow more consolidation at the expense of competition. The rationale was that the American marketplace was already significantly competitive, to the point that market growth was labor constrained, as opposed to today, where it is capital constrained. So by allowing more merges and decreasing overa…

Post by milcron » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 8:10 PM UTC

specialist wrote: post #144

CPLX wrote: post #15

This isn't a problem with Google, it's a problem with the establishment left in the United States. There's no genuine, credible anti-corporate voice in American politics. The reasons why are many, but of course they typically distill down to the incredible power of money to influence people, of which this is an example. The side-effects of there being no credible labor party in our political system manifests, in part…

"There's no genuine, credible anti-corporate voice in American politics." I note that you said "corporate" vs "capital(ism)". Thank you for making the distinction. Most liberals I hang with favor a Sander-esque version of capitalism meets socialism. Balancing capitalism (ready access to capital), competition, open markets with a strong safety net and democracy. Balancing rewarding achievement and merit with ensuring…

    Social democracy is a political, social and economic ideology that supports
    economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the
    framework of a capitalist economy, as well as a policy regime involving a
    commitment to representative democracy, measures for income redistribution,
    and regulation of the economy in the general interest and welfare state
    provisions.

    Democratic socialism is a political ideology that advocates political
    democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production, often with
    an emphasis on democratic management of enterprises within a socialist
    economic system. Democratic socialists see capitalism as inherently
    incompatible with the democratic values of liberty, equality and solidarity;
    and believe that the issues inherent to capitalism can only be solved by
    superseding private ownership with some form of social ownership [in the
    form of democracy].

Post by visarga » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 8:20 PM UTC

freehunter wrote: post #116

redm wrote: post #93

The key point of the article is this: “Google is very aggressive in throwing its money around Washington and Brussels, and then pulling the strings,” Mr. Lynn said. “People are so afraid of Google now.” Honestly, the only thing shocking about any of this is that people thought Google was "special". The reality is, when its revenues are threatened, it's going to reach like any other corporation, which it should. Googl…

Are you actually locked into those services? I decided to switch away from Google when they mixed up my inbox with someone else's and started sending my email to someone who quickly used the mistake to issue password resets on many of my accounts, and it was easier than I thought. With Gmail, I just forward my mail to my Outlook.com account, and I switched my email address on as many sites as I could to use my Outloo…

Post by wavefunction » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 8:25 PM UTC

fasquoika wrote: post #294

bb611 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the very active and loud anti-corporate voices Could you clarify which voices you mean?

Occupy Wall Street wasn't that long ago, most of those people are still around, and the message definitely creeps into the mainstream regularly. Just look at how many people voted for Sanders in the primaries last year

Post by taheca » Wed, Aug 30, 2017, 8:26 PM UTC

dkonofalski wrote: post #305

hsod wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you aren't loudly hearing anti-corporate voices in the modern American political conversation, you aren't listening.

They're making noise but they're not being heard. No one with any ability to instigate change is listening to them. Just because they're talking doesn't mean anyone is taking them seriously. For the record, I definitely think they should be taken seriously.