4 ms·

What’s the egregious bit? Because Apple were so successful with their product they should have a cap on how much they capitalise? Do you get upset at business

What’s the egregious bit? Because Apple were so successful with their product they should have a cap on how much they capitalise? Do you get upset at business class in airlines? Or cinema food being so expensive? Isn’t this the point of capitalism?

kemayo 3y ago
Leaving aside the potential for a critique of capitalism as a whole... it depends on what you compare it to, right? (Or, I don't get upset at the existence of business class, but I do get upset at excessive nickel-and-diming with fees in coach.) I'd tend to think of the Mac as the most-direct comparison point, where there's the App Store but also where a developer who wants to handle everything themselves can.
- onethought 3y ago
  That’s why I took it to another industry that is clearly charging a fee that is unrelated to its costs. Capitalism says: the market will figure it out. Given Apple does not have a monopoly. I don’t see how any of this is a problem. If they want you to sacrifice your first born child in order to publish an app on their App Store. That’s okay. Just don’t publish your app to their phone.
  - Lazonedo 3y ago
    > that is unrelated to its costs. Are you serious? airline companies is not a good place to be when it comes to margins and making a profit. Business class subsidizes air travel "for the rest of us". Even then, they still often depend on government subsidies to make ends meet. You say business class is a fee not related to their costs? you really don't understand how unprofitable airlines would be and how cheap air travel currently is. In France it's cheaper to take a plane from Montpellier to Paris than it is to take the train! Meanwhile Apple is one of the highest margin company in the entire world. To put things into perspective, Apple has a /cash reserve/ of 162 billions USD. They have far more money than they even know how to spend. The 30% on in app purchases is definitely not because they need to recoup their costs in any way, shape, or form.
    - onethought 3y ago
      You are proving my point. So what they charge in business is unrelated to their cost. They are paying for a lot more than they are getting. Exactly my point. So “having a good business model” is punishable?
      - int_19h 3y ago
        If it results in a less competitive (= less free) market, then yeah, it should be.
  - pmontra 3y ago
    The first two paragraphs of the Wikipedia article [1] are enough to hint that capitalism is not necessarily about free markets. Many capitalists would like to have a monopoly on the market they are in or make the rules of the market. Only a few succeed. Apple mostly succeeded especially if we think that one of markets they are in is selling iOS apps developed by third parties. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism

kemayo 3y ago

Leaving aside the potential for a critique of capitalism as a whole... it depends on what you compare it to, right? (Or, I don't get upset at the existence of business class, but I do get upset at excessive nickel-and-diming with fees in coach.) I'd tend to think of the Mac as the most-direct comparison point, where there's the App Store but also where a developer who wants to handle everything themselves can.

onethought 3y ago
That’s why I took it to another industry that is clearly charging a fee that is unrelated to its costs. Capitalism says: the market will figure it out. Given Apple does not have a monopoly. I don’t see how any of this is a problem. If they want you to sacrifice your first born child in order to publish an app on their App Store. That’s okay. Just don’t publish your app to their phone.
- Lazonedo 3y ago
  > that is unrelated to its costs. Are you serious? airline companies is not a good place to be when it comes to margins and making a profit. Business class subsidizes air travel "for the rest of us". Even then, they still often depend on government subsidies to make ends meet. You say business class is a fee not related to their costs? you really don't understand how unprofitable airlines would be and how cheap air travel currently is. In France it's cheaper to take a plane from Montpellier to Paris than it is to take the train! Meanwhile Apple is one of the highest margin company in the entire world. To put things into perspective, Apple has a /cash reserve/ of 162 billions USD. They have far more money than they even know how to spend. The 30% on in app purchases is definitely not because they need to recoup their costs in any way, shape, or form.
  - onethought 3y ago
    You are proving my point. So what they charge in business is unrelated to their cost. They are paying for a lot more than they are getting. Exactly my point. So “having a good business model” is punishable?
    - int_19h 3y ago
      If it results in a less competitive (= less free) market, then yeah, it should be.
- pmontra 3y ago
  The first two paragraphs of the Wikipedia article [1] are enough to hint that capitalism is not necessarily about free markets. Many capitalists would like to have a monopoly on the market they are in or make the rules of the market. Only a few succeed. Apple mostly succeeded especially if we think that one of markets they are in is selling iOS apps developed by third parties. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism