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by guerrilla 1481 days ago
They pay profit instead. What's it matter though?
1 comments

The ability to collect taxes was shorthand for "the right to use force to compel you to do things as they see fit".

Amazon can not compel you to buy from them, and Amazon can not throw you in jail if they don't like you as a customer.

Mining personal data and using it against the interests of the individual is bad in both cases, but it is far more dangerous when done by the State.

> Amazon can not compel you to buy from them, and Amazon can not throw you in jail if they don't like you as a customer.

Of course they can, by becoming a monopoly and driving all other options for things you need out of business. Also by manipulating you with advertisements and propaganda. Coercion has many forms.

Last I checked, it is still illegal to have a monopoly and the government can break a company apart if it starts abusing its power.

Now, who can break the Government apart if it starts abusing its power?

If you had checked, you'd know monopolies are not illegal. It's discretionary regulation and impotent in many cases. Power comes in many forms.

States fall for many reasons, but primarily causes are war and revolution (which are sometimes the same thing.)

Monopolies are illegal if established through improper conduct and anti-competitive practices. The exceptions would be for State-owned or State-granted monopolies... Amazon is neither of those.

> States fall for many reasons, but primarily causes are war and revolution

So, the way to get rid of Amazon would be to get the Government to simply start a judicial process against a company. The way to get rid of the Government would require bloodshed. Can we agree that that n corrupt and power-abusive Government is far more dangerous than Amazon (or any other corporation) could ever be?

> Monopolies are illegal if

You're moving the goalpost and still wrong [1]. I don't know why you want to talk about this so badly if you don't know what you're talking about. Anyway, as I said, it's discretionary regulation and power comes in many forms.

> The way to get rid of the Government would require bloodshed.

You don't need to get rid of "the government" if you control the state and everyone's minds via lobbying, corruption, propaganda and other means.

> Can we agree that that n corrupt and power-abusive Government is far more dangerous than Amazon (or any other corporation) could ever be?

Absolutely not. "The government" is the puppet, the owners of companies like Amazon are the puppeteers. Power comes in many forms. Coercion comes in many forms.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_antitrust_law