Enshittification - Part 2

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I enjoyed the first podcast with Cory Doctorow so much that I listened to a second one : "Capitalism ruins everything".

It covers much of the same ground as the previous podcast, with a particular focus on mergers and acquisitions that give rise to giants, effectively becoming de facto monopolies.

Here are a few new ideas that stood out to me:

• The "chickenization," which describes the horizontal and vertical integration of certain industries, based on the model of chicken farmers : the large agribusiness corporation tells them what breed to raise, how to feed them, how to organize their space, what time to turn the lights on and off... The farmers have no power. Without knowing it, they can be part of an "experiment" : overnight, the chickens die. For the farmer, it's a tragedy; for the corporation, it's a data point to gain even more control.
• When buyers consolidate to form large corporations, sellers have no choice but to do the same to compete, creating even less choice for the end consumer.
• Amazon lost $100 million in one month by giving away free baby diapers... to sink a competitor that had launched a diaper delivery service. A cautionary tale for all entrepreneurs.
• Individual artist copyrights are not enough to protect them from large corporations where the negotiating power is too unbalanced. Collective rights seem to be a better path.
• Even though Microsoft won its 2001 antitrust trial, Bill Gates's deposition was devastating for him and his company. The punishment is the process, not the outcome. For this reason, most large corporations prefer to settle. Despite this, it's necessary to find more immediate solutions than lawsuits that can sometimes take decades.
• Just because there is no map doesn't mean there is no path. Sometimes you have to navigate by sight to find the openings: that is the foundation of hope.

This guy, Cory Doctorow, a former science fiction author turned activist, is fascinating. I'm going to follow his work more closely.