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> But fast forward 20/30 years later, and people use whatsapp, FB, and telegram - I can't help but wonder if monopolies will work themselves out eventually as technology re-invents itself. Maybe they will, but cancer eventually works itself out too. The problem is that the patient usually dies in the process. I'm not sure it's actually a good idea to wait for monopolies, monopsonies, or oligopolies to "work themselves out" because when corporations (and individuals) become too rich and too powerful they can place themselves above the law and do as they please. A situation where a few corporations and individuals are essentially sovereign entities equal to the world's governments doesn't seem like a sustainable situation to me. I think the governments representing us should have the authority to prevent such accumulations and abuses of power from happening. I also think that when a government agency or somebody working for a government agency oversteps their authority, they should be thoroughly investigated, publicly tried, and (if proven guilty) punished without mercy. If, for example, the FBI steps out of line again, it ought to be shut down. If a cop summarily executes an unarmed black man for driving with a busted taillight, he should be guillotined. IMO and incidentally, the only valid use case for cryptocurrency is the one Jim Bell outlined in the 1990s when he wrote Assassination Politics. Though that's probably not a good idea to actually implement in the real world, lest you have Elon Musk paying to have trolls whacked instead of just blocking them on Twitter. |