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There is historical precedent here: the Dutch East India company. There are times where certain commercial, for profit companies gain so much power that they be
by Dumblydorr 5y ago
There is historical precedent here: the Dutch East India company. There are times where certain commercial, for profit companies gain so much power that they become effective states. DEIC had military forces and projected power quite far abroad. One can only hope no such development of Amazon's powers occurs.
Another example would be the railroad and oil monopolies of the late 1800s USA. To own the tracks and oil, the transportation system itself, and dictate terms without negotiation, that is no free market, that is despotism by another name.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- cblconfederate 5y agoI don't think those are comparable as they were clearly less powerful than the kingdoms they served. If amazon moved their HQ outside the US it would be a major problem
- zelias 5y agoI think the analogue would be Amazon Logistics projecting their power into _space_ in order to protect their eventually-patented Planetary Logistics Ships
- tomjen3 5y agoThe Dutch East India company had their own army. Does Amazon?
- toss1 5y agoRe security and the railroad and oil monopolies in the late 1800s, go look up Pinkerton [0]. On their own website, they mention "establishing the first criminal database" — a private company not the state. "From our roots serving as an intelligence agency during the Civil War, Pinkerton has continued to build an impressive track record establishing the first criminal database, being the first company to hire a female detective, and being a forerunner for the secret service. Discover how Pinkerton has played a historic role in the risk management industry for over a century by following our company and our accomplishments through the years in the timeline below...." [0] https://pinkerton.com/our-story/history https://pinkerton.com/our-story/history