It's not entirely clear why the power to destroy livelihoods, obtained by monopolistic network effects (ie., racketeering) is substantially different in kind th

It's not entirely clear why the power to destroy livelihoods, obtained by monopolistic network effects (ie., racketeering) is substantially different in kind than the power to fine and imprison. In that, many developers would gladly take a week in prison and a fine, over being banned from the app store; which is, in large effect, banning them from using their (developed, life-time specialised) labour effectively within an economy. It's weirdness of the rightwing american mentality, especially, that the potential collective physical aggression of the state has a special status in one's oppression (presumably the civil war, etc. plays a large part here). Since europe's civil wars are long-gone, the most relevant sort of oppression, for most people, is economic and metered out largely by monopolists.