My favorite comments so far (oh god the predictable comments) are;
pfff HAHA!
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Think what you want about Bezos… for a single moment in history, he had a point of view I agreed with;
The interviewer just classically does not get it… they’re the type of person who will miss out on opportunity after opportunity because they just don’t get the most simple truths, even when they are plainly laid out in front of them. They are too busy arguing their own point of view, simply dismissing everything else instead of listening, thinking, and either adjusting their point of view or coming up with a valid argument.
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Too bad that view didn’t remain (if he was honest to begin with). Post-purchase Kindle updates to force ads when off and forbid access to files except through their store. Make exclusive anticompetitive deals to force buyers and sellers to go through them. Undercut competitors at a loss until they go out of business to secure a monopoly with increased prices. Anti-competition, anti-competition, anti-competition until the customer experience is irrelevant because the customer has no other options.
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that’s “enshittification” 100%
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Yup. I don’t believe that capitalism inevitably deteriorates into late stage capitalism, but laissez faire capitalism does. Need anti-trust laws to preserve free markets.
Fortunately, even while the mega-corporations become corrupt, there remain good companies, like yours. I really respect the way you share your knowledge and research, fostering a healthy competitive spirit where success isn’t about how much of the pie can be monopolised, but about everyone striving to add their best offerings to the table. That’s how we keep getting more and better treats, and that’s a good customer experience.
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The thing about capitalism is that it is only half of the “great economic system” proponents always tout that it is. Traditional capitalism vs the post-1976 “shareholder value” capitalism we have today necessitates heavy government regulation.
Old definition of capitalism
- Capitalism is generally defined as an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit.
- Key features traditionally associated with capitalism include: private property, profit motive, capital accumulation, competitive markets, commodification, wage labor, and an emphasis on innovation and economic growth.
- Early forms of capitalism, emerging from agrarianism and mercantilism in the Renaissance, focused on trade for profit and the investment of private wealth.
- While the concept of profit and capital ownership existed, the sole focus on maximizing returns for shareholders, at the expense of other considerations, was not necessarily the dominant paradigm in earlier iterations of capitalism.
Maximizing shareholder value
- The concept of prioritizing shareholder wealth maximization as the primary purpose of a corporation gained significant traction later in the 20th century, particularly starting in 1976 with the era of “shareholder value capitalism”.
- This perspective, famously articulated by economist Milton Friedman, suggests that a company’s main responsibility is to maximize profits for its shareholders within legal bounds.
- This approach is often contrasted with stakeholder theory, which emphasizes considering the interests of a broader group of stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers, and the community, in addition to shareholders, in order to achieve long-term success and sustainability.
If the new “shareholder” based version of capitalism sounds a bit like the paperclip apocalypse, that’s because it kind of is… reducing the operating principle of any corporation to a singular goal, even if it means eating its own customers in the process.
The version of capitalism we have now is like fire… well controlled, it can be extremely useful, allowing comfortable living with minimal risk… the goal of well reasoned government regulation is to stop out of control “shareholder value” capitalism from burning everything to the ground.
I take more of the stakeholder theory approach, because in the end, it’s how we all benefit while keeping some small chunk of our souls intact.
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Whoever made this is diabolical…
Honestly… where the hell is Atari? Pong? Yes, my father bought a pong game and I remember playing it as a very wee lad.
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Also missing the TurboGrafx 16… came out same time as the SNES. Otherwise, I had all of those, plus the Atari 2600
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No og Gameboy brick
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Nice try… aint clicking on that…
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I already got you to fall for it once. Best $10 I ever spent.
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Unless its a sub bullet point.
For hierarchical context
I think its also called a nestled point
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I’ve never wanted to punch someone through USPS more. Like a express insured slap.
I got that notification and I was like oh cool. Then rickroll
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Ahh, true, good point (
)
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Will you take this video of my sister’s cat as an apology? 
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I’m not clicking on that!!
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Not even for me 
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