[bloblaw]

I'm a libertarian. I believe in personal choice and freedom. But you have tons of freedom here.

Instead of using an OS (iOS in this case) with 25% market share that forces you to go through their AppStore, you can choose to use Android (which has 75% market share) and side load apps to your hearts content.

reference: https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide

[donmcronald]

You don't get to choose if you're a developer. For mobile apps a prerequisite for success is to have an app for both Android (via the Play Store) and iOS. With iOS you're forced to deal with Apple. With Android you're forced to deal with Google.

Yeah, you can opt to target only one of them, but you're (usually) going to get out competed by a company that targets both.

[scarface74]

There are plenty of indy iOS app developers who won’t go near Android and are doing quite well. I’m sure there are some Android only indy developers making a good living. I just don’t follow that market.

There are plenty of markets and Technologies I won’t touch with a ten foot pole.

[sebmellen]

Libertarianism is d̵e̵a̵d̵ * slowly dying, because it fails to recognize that corporations can exert a similar amount of oppressive force as governments. Your platform of choice is now your country, and the software that platform runs is your government.

[mindslight]

I wouldn't say libertarianism is "dead" but rather is quick to fall prey to logical contradictions justifying totalitarianism, similar to the two prime time political teams.

You're right that there is little difference between a corporation that one is de facto forced to interact with, and a bona fide government. For example, one can easily reframe USG as a corporation that you form a contract with by owning land, renting, or being on a public way. This does not mean that our current society is a libertarian paradise.

Turing completeness shows us the ouroboros of expressivity with programming languages. It's unfortunate people let their guard down in other areas.

[cgriswald]

Libertarian thought is complex, non-static, and (importantly), non-monolithic. This is especially true for the relationship between people, government, and corporations. The generalizing statements in this thread reject vast swaths of ideas for no reason at all; even ideas that generally agree with the ideas in the thread. My guess is most people hold in their minds a caricature of libertarianism informed either by "that one libertarian guy from college" or social media postings. That's somewhat deserved, but also a shame.

[commoner]

Many people associate the word "libertarian" with right-libertarianism, which is the predominant form of libertarianism in the United States. Ayn Rand's philosophy of objectivism is right-libertarian.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-libertarianism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarianism_in_the_United_S...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivism_and_libertarianism

On the other hand, left-libertarians oppose capitalism while supporting personal property rights. Left-libertarians and right-libertarians find common ground in rejecting authoritarian governments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-libertarianism

Libertarianism comprises a diverse collection of views that aim to advance individual freedom, and anyone who is not an authoritarian is likely to agree with some libertarian principles.

[scarface74]

Can a corporation reach into my bank account and take my money via civil forfeiture without a trial? Can a corporation in prison me? Can a corporation break into my house without identifying themselves and shoot me? Can a corporation stop me while driving down the street for “fitting the description”?