[zem]

have to disagree there - the enshittification of nearly everything is 100% attributable to the seductive nature of rent seeking (more specifically, trying to gouge ever more in recurring revenue from people who you try to ensure have no other options). even companies who have innovative products and positive revenue streams have gone down that road.

[CharlieDigital]

I mean, why do you think they are rent seeking in the first place?

(Hint: to make a profit and deliver profits to shareholders and investors)

[lcnPylGDnU4H9OF]

> to make a profit and deliver profits to shareholders and investors

This is only part of the reason. It's really to signal that they can provide ever-increasing value. This year's 5% stock price increase cannot preclude next year's 5% stock price increase. It should be obvious this can't go on forever but it seems investors today either don't notice or don't care. It's precisely why enshittification happens: costs (things the business does to make their products/services more appealing to the customer) go down and revenues (the prices of the products/services) go up.

Making a car and selling the car is profitable (presuming the manufacturer is able to attract buyers). Making a car and selling the car while holding back software features unless the purchaser of the vehicle pays a monthly subscription fee is profitable and rent-seeking. The former used to be what happened and increasingly the latter is what's happening. It's not because the car companies weren't profitable in the past, it's because they want to show investors that they can continue to grow their profits.

[zem]

the goal of nearly every single company out there is to make a profit, but not all of them engage in rent seeking.