Tyranny, Inc.
By
Contemplations on the Tree of Woe
What government wants to do but cannot, it can require corporations to do for it.
(Cognitive Dissonance - The subject of Corporate Tyranny is politicized to the point where few can engage in an informed discussion with anything resembling facts in hand. Alexander Macris makes a superb effort to do precisely that in his article re-posted here with permission. While somewhat of a long read, I urge you to read it all the way to the end, then read it again. And don't forget to visit his blog.)
If you’ve read the Parable of the Seasteader, you’ll already know that at sufficient scale the public/private distinction collapses — a private entity of sufficient size can have all the power of a public entity. It is certainly arguable that Facebook and Google have reached such size. Here, however, I want to discuss a different dilemma - government’s use of private entities to regulate freedoms it cannot directly abridge.
We’re going to look at one specific right (the right to free speech) and one specific set of Federal regulations (§ 1604.11) but the pattern I’m describing here has become ubiquitous in our country. Nowadays, almost anything government is forbidden to regulate, it can require corporations to regulate for it. The government has outsourced tyranny. Let’s see how this black magic is performed. Continue reading Tyranny, Inc.
