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I will categorically say that I'll take unfettered corporations over unfettered government every single time. I can quit Facebook. Good luck quitting your gover

I will categorically say that I'll take unfettered corporations over unfettered government every single time. I can quit Facebook. Good luck quitting your government. These are not remotely equivalent things, and I bristle every time I hear someone suggest it.

colinmhayes 5y ago
I will categorically say the opposite. As long as there are free and fair elections the government is accountable to the people. Corporations are never accountable to anyone but the shareholders.
epgui 5y ago
Government moves slower and works for the commons (at least it is supposed to). Corporations cannot solve every kind of problem, and some form of government is inevitable, necessary and desirable.
lapetitejort 5y ago
I cannot "quit" Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, and Facebook collecting info about me.
shadowgovt 5y ago
> I can quit Facebook. Maybe. If I quit Facebook, I can't messenger my loved ones anymore and my Oculus is now a lovely brick someone bought me for Christmas. At a certain scale, the power dynamics start to look very similar. Governments still generally maintain a monopoly on violence, that's a big difference. Generally. I think we can consider "Deported because your employer has no further use for you" a mostly-government-but-kind-of-weird-hand-in-glove-with-corporate-power blended category.
- jelliclesfarm 5y ago
  How did people communicate with their loved ones before Facebook? Are you hearing yourself?
  - shadowgovt 5y ago
    > How did people communicate with their loved ones before Facebook? Synchronously, without video, using an interrupting device. And after that, bifurcated across about a half-dozen messaging services. Facebook is the first system I've seen that actually has 100% of my friends and family reachable using a common protocol supporting text, audio, and video messaging. If I were to leave, I'd lose touch with about half the people I correspond with regularly. It's a hard sell.
- xyzelement 5y ago
  > Maybe. If I quit Facebook, I can't messenger my loved ones anymore and my Oculus is now a lovely brick someone bought me for Christmas ... At a certain scale, the power dynamics start to look very similar. Governments still generally maintain a monopoly on violence, that's a big difference. That's a HUGE difference. You are describing inconveniences but you still have a choice to give up your Oculus etc if you want. You don't have the choice to "ignore" the government the same way.
Barrin92 5y ago
>I can quit Facebook. I hope you keep in mind that this puts you into a somewhat privileged position given that numerous people need to maintain accounts with Facebook for their job, their educational institutions, their landlord, or something else they cannot avoid. In quite a lot of countries on earth Facebook services (or their national analogues) are essentially equivalent to 'the internet'.

colinmhayes 5y ago

I will categorically say the opposite. As long as there are free and fair elections the government is accountable to the people. Corporations are never accountable to anyone but the shareholders.

epgui 5y ago

Government moves slower and works for the commons (at least it is supposed to). Corporations cannot solve every kind of problem, and some form of government is inevitable, necessary and desirable.

lapetitejort 5y ago

I cannot "quit" Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, and Facebook collecting info about me.

shadowgovt 5y ago

> I can quit Facebook. Maybe. If I quit Facebook, I can't messenger my loved ones anymore and my Oculus is now a lovely brick someone bought me for Christmas. At a certain scale, the power dynamics start to look very similar. Governments still generally maintain a monopoly on violence, that's a big difference. Generally. I think we can consider "Deported because your employer has no further use for you" a mostly-government-but-kind-of-weird-hand-in-glove-with-corporate-power blended category.

jelliclesfarm 5y ago
How did people communicate with their loved ones before Facebook? Are you hearing yourself?
- shadowgovt 5y ago
  > How did people communicate with their loved ones before Facebook? Synchronously, without video, using an interrupting device. And after that, bifurcated across about a half-dozen messaging services. Facebook is the first system I've seen that actually has 100% of my friends and family reachable using a common protocol supporting text, audio, and video messaging. If I were to leave, I'd lose touch with about half the people I correspond with regularly. It's a hard sell.
xyzelement 5y ago
> Maybe. If I quit Facebook, I can't messenger my loved ones anymore and my Oculus is now a lovely brick someone bought me for Christmas ... At a certain scale, the power dynamics start to look very similar. Governments still generally maintain a monopoly on violence, that's a big difference. That's a HUGE difference. You are describing inconveniences but you still have a choice to give up your Oculus etc if you want. You don't have the choice to "ignore" the government the same way.

Barrin92 5y ago

>I can quit Facebook. I hope you keep in mind that this puts you into a somewhat privileged position given that numerous people need to maintain accounts with Facebook for their job, their educational institutions, their landlord, or something else they cannot avoid. In quite a lot of countries on earth Facebook services (or their national analogues) are essentially equivalent to 'the internet'.