Large corporate conglomerates are essentially how power is shared and delegated in any modern oligarchic society with large economic footprint. Details around p

Large corporate conglomerates are essentially how power is shared and delegated in any modern oligarchic society with large economic footprint. Details around public sector role vs market structure and function vary, but overall its the same story: A bunch of ruthless actors, with various degrees of starting point privilege, climb the greasy poles, typically in colluding cohorts of 'old boy networks'. Revolving doors between private and public roles are the norm. In this organizational design producing anything of value is a secondary concern and incidental to the job description. Control and maintenance of power structure is the prime objective. Large firms are lawyer and lobbyist undertakings with a tiny production engine attached. Rather gloomy but not really new. There is nevertheless something very intriguing about the tech industry. It may be at the forefront of disrupting this rather wasteful house of political cards. This very discussion on HN is point in case. Go and check Linkedin to see what corporate vacuity typically sound like :-) The success of the open source movement with its incredible efficiency and leverage is another interesting hint that something interesting is brewing. Why would tech be any different? Well its not "tech", its information tech. And power structures require and are shaped by the control of information. So for as long as tech is not completely locked down the next phase of human political-economic organization is in-principle up for grabs.