[DrewADesign]

Even aside from inflation, the prospect of efficiency-borne gains meaningfully benefiting the consumer rather than fattening corporate profit margins, frankly, seems like magical thinking. I’ve seen no evidence that our current corporate culture is capable of it (for any longer than it takes to dominate some market.)

[eru]

What does corporate culture have to do with any of it? The surplus goes to the consumer not because of any benevolent corporate culture, but because of competition.

And (most) efficiency gains have benefited customers in the past.

Just check eg how much you are paying for excellent lighting of your house today vs 200 years ago.

[DrewADesign]

Yeah that’s why health care and credit are so cheap!

How about literally anything run by private equity?

[eru]

> Yeah that’s why health care and credit are so cheap!

Yep, though only where competition is allowed!

> How about literally anything run by private equity?

Like many airlines? Flying has never been cheaper.

Planet Fitness is also owned by private equity, and their 10$/month membership plan has been steady for two decades despite inflation.

You can find lots more examples.

[DrewADesign]

It certainly didn’t seem to stop enshittification in any meaningful way.

[eru]

If that's what customers pay for, that's what they get.

[DrewADesign]

And where’s the reasonable alternative that competition has provided to many of these enshittified services? They don’t exist because nickel-and-diming people to avoid misery on services they require is far more profitable, and charging a gigantic luxury premium to have everything you want… and don’t want, is even more profitable than that. The system can still be complete shit while providing some remnant of its original functionality. Without proper regulation, the whole thing just devolves into n-opolies hell-bent on extracting as much as they can from everybody else. Well, that’s what we’ve got in many markets.

[throwaway27448]

I imagine this would come from outside the US.