[Jtsummers]

> Can you say to your boss "No, stack you using sucks, I will use X language and libraries"? I know that someone can for sure, but most of us can't.

Yes and no. I can say what sucks, and I'm consulted on how to do things, but I don't have authority to unilaterally choose a direction most of the time (on subsystems I have more, maybe even total, freedom, on the whole system I do not). I also don't have the ultimate responsibility for those things that I cannot make the decisions on, which is a good thing since I lack the authority to make those decisions. No responsibility without authority.

> Capitalistic companies dictate to us what technologies to use. Money became a higher priority than engineering.

This is true. If you want it to change, though, it comes at a high cost. To reprioritize engineering you need to shift who holds responsibility for the system and its outcomes. If you want authority, you also need to accept responsibility (possibly even criminal liability, like PEs assume in some of their work). No company (or no competent company) will dole out authority willy-nilly. You want that authority, you need to accept an appropriate level of responsibility and liability.