4 ms·

separation of Big Tech vs Big Govt needs to the thought of like the separation of Church vs State in Medieval times - two poles must be kept separate, to divide

separation of Big Tech vs Big Govt needs to the thought of like the separation of Church vs State in Medieval times - two poles must be kept separate, to divide power and avoid absolute control

concinds 4y ago
Governments that use corporations as their agents are strongly disincentivized from properly regulating and breaking up these same corporations. Ending lobbying, closing the revolving door, and setting up strong boundaries between governments and corporations will be the key issue of the 21st century, as corporations continue to grow in power.
- chiefalchemist 4y ago
  Yes. But that's a very tough sell. The Gov gets information and control. The Corporations get immunity and continue to serve the wants and needs of Gov. This relationship makes political chatter about regulating Big Tech a joke. Sure there might be some faux wrist slapping but neither benefits from biting the hand that feds it.
Dah00n 4y ago
There are not enough separation of Church vs State in the US - not like in most other countries it is compared to. Religion has a lot of power still. But yes it should be absolute separation.
- parminya 4y ago
  The UK has one or two state religions, bishops ex officio have seats in (the less powerful house of) parliament, and the upcoming coronation of their king will be a church service (with communion and all). Germany collects taxes on behalf of religious communities. Australia and Canada regularly send public money to religious schools. I don't think the separation of the Church and State in the US is particularly less than normal. The separation of Church and Politics in the US is probably less than normal, but that's an entirely separate matter, which - to the extent that is antidemocratic - can probably only be addressed by democratic reform.
- treeman79 4y ago
  There is nothing in the constitution about separation of church and state. Thomas Jefferson did not want to establish a state religion. Many people use that to try and eliminate religion all together.
- hunglee2 4y ago
  couldn't agree more, though the influence of 'Church' in the US is really via tax carve outs and a kind of influence diffused across a wide variety of religious institutions and (sometimes hidden) affiliations. There isn't a centralised institution calling the shots, unlike what you see in Christian sects in East Asia (S.Korea, Japan, Taiwan) or with Islamic councils in M/E (Iran, Saudi etc). This actually makes if harder to separate in the US, as the lines aren't always explicit
akomtu 4y ago
I remember how in one grim movie about drug cartels, the main character said that we, the military, support the Medellin cartel, instead of fighting it, because it's an order we can control, unlike a swarm of small cartels popping up here and there. The gov would have difficulties censoring speech if big tech was a thousand smaller firms.

separation of Big Tech vs Big Govt needs to the thought of like the separation of Church vs State in Medieval times - two poles must be kept separate, to divide power and avoid absolute control

concinds 4y ago

Governments that use corporations as their agents are strongly disincentivized from properly regulating and breaking up these same corporations. Ending lobbying, closing the revolving door, and setting up strong boundaries between governments and corporations will be the key issue of the 21st century, as corporations continue to grow in power.

chiefalchemist 4y ago
Yes. But that's a very tough sell. The Gov gets information and control. The Corporations get immunity and continue to serve the wants and needs of Gov. This relationship makes political chatter about regulating Big Tech a joke. Sure there might be some faux wrist slapping but neither benefits from biting the hand that feds it.

Dah00n 4y ago

There are not enough separation of Church vs State in the US - not like in most other countries it is compared to. Religion has a lot of power still. But yes it should be absolute separation.

parminya 4y ago
The UK has one or two state religions, bishops ex officio have seats in (the less powerful house of) parliament, and the upcoming coronation of their king will be a church service (with communion and all). Germany collects taxes on behalf of religious communities. Australia and Canada regularly send public money to religious schools. I don't think the separation of the Church and State in the US is particularly less than normal. The separation of Church and Politics in the US is probably less than normal, but that's an entirely separate matter, which - to the extent that is antidemocratic - can probably only be addressed by democratic reform.
treeman79 4y ago
There is nothing in the constitution about separation of church and state. Thomas Jefferson did not want to establish a state religion. Many people use that to try and eliminate religion all together.
hunglee2 4y ago
couldn't agree more, though the influence of 'Church' in the US is really via tax carve outs and a kind of influence diffused across a wide variety of religious institutions and (sometimes hidden) affiliations. There isn't a centralised institution calling the shots, unlike what you see in Christian sects in East Asia (S.Korea, Japan, Taiwan) or with Islamic councils in M/E (Iran, Saudi etc). This actually makes if harder to separate in the US, as the lines aren't always explicit

akomtu 4y ago

I remember how in one grim movie about drug cartels, the main character said that we, the military, support the Medellin cartel, instead of fighting it, because it's an order we can control, unlike a swarm of small cartels popping up here and there. The gov would have difficulties censoring speech if big tech was a thousand smaller firms.