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betteryet | 2 months ago

Not my point. The original comment said the tech industry can decide to break up the federal government because they don't want to be forced to clean up their act. Societies should be stronger than any industry and fight to maintain freedom, health, peace, and prosperity. If the tech industry is against that, then they should be the ones broken up.

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jMyles|2 months ago

> Societies should be stronger than any industry and fight to maintain freedom, health, peace, and prosperity.

I think (I hope!) we all agree with this sentiment.

But societies also need to be stronger than states, especially in an age of connection and sharing.

States are the main source of uncertainty and violence in the world right now, and I think it's reasonable to hope that the internet will bring the age of peace we pray for.

Obviously the social media giants are not it. They are closer to states than they are to algorithms.

But I'm wary of siding with states over web apps. What we need are healthier (meaning, chiefly, more decentralized and less rent-seeking) web apps.

betteryet|2 months ago

Exactly, societies need to be stronger than states too and really need to act early. States can become one person or party and it's game over for a long time. Actually, the American Constitution is pretty great at preventing this exact outcome and I still have a lot of faith in it.

eddythompson80|2 months ago

> I think (I hope!) we all agree with this sentiment.

As long as it's not farming, defense or healthcare of course. Historically speaking at least.

thegrimmest|2 months ago

> They are closer to states than they are to algorithms

This seems like nonsense. All the tech industry does is convince people. It doesn't force anyone to do anything. States have a monopoly on violence. No one holds a gun to anyone's head forcing them to consume <insert content you disagree with>. In a country of equals, everyone's opinion, including <position you disagree with>, should hold equal sway, and be resolved via democratic due process.

Just because many people hold <position you disagree with> and vote for <politician you find repugnant> doesn't give you any sort of reasonable justification to limit the freedom of others to advocate (including on social media) for it.