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‘Enshittification’ is coming for absolutely everything (www.ft.com)

submitted 9 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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‘Enshittification’ is coming for absolutely everything::The term describes the slow decay of online platforms such as Facebook. But what if we’ve entered the ‘enshittocene’?

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[–] [email protected] 66 points 9 months ago (3 children)

I'm fine with whatever term we decide means "capitalism fucking sucks". If we need some new term to escape the current terms that bind folk's minds all up against their best interests then enshittisication is better than many

[–] [email protected] 55 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Enshitification was coined by Cory Doctrow specifically for the tech space, because the tech space is uniquely poised to constantly shift and tweak a service-based product to manipulate users, creators, and the paying customers.

I call this enshittification, and it is a seemingly inevitable consequence arising from the combination of the ease of changing how a platform allocates value, combined with the nature of a "two sided market," where a platform sits between buyers and sellers, holding each hostage to the other, raking off an ever-larger share of the value that passes between them.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/

This is on top of the normal problem of greed. Now I didn't read the article because it is pay walled (go figure). Is this article actually drawing a correct comparison to the definition of enshitification above, or is it just lazily ascribing the phenomenon of greed to that word?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago

Enshitification was coined by Cory Doctrow specifically for the tech space

You're not wrong it was coined this way, but he has referred to the process in other arenas where monopolies exist:

But it’s not just tech that faces the curse of bigness: your bank, your insurer, your beer company, the companies that make your eyeglasses and your athletic shoes — they’ve all run out of lands to conquer, but instead of weeping, they’re taking it out on you, with worse products that cost more.

Enshittification follows monopoly as sure as night follows day.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

the term is way more specific, though.

[+] [email protected] -28 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Without capitalism there wouldn't be anything to enshitify...

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yes, because the first guy who lit a fire on purpose was like: "you want warm? You give food! Else fuck off!"

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

To be fair, he may well have been like that. Humans have been selfish bastards since the dawn of time. And maybe this is why we need good government regulations - because human nature is greed. Any company in a position of power will just leech as much money as they can, if nobody is going to stop them.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If you think human nature is greed and selfishness, you're falling for capitalist indoctrination. Humans have the capacity for greed or selfishness but it has not always been the dominant principle of human societies. But capitalists want us to believe it's just "human nature" to be an asshole so there's no viable alternative to a greed-based society.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 8 months ago

I'm not trying to justify unlimited greed, nor do I mean that we should permit unlimited greed. I'm saying the opposite of that - I think we should have laws to curtail unlimited greed.

But I do still think greed and selfishness are human nature, because when I look at humans, I consistently see selfishness and greed. Maybe this means I'm a pessimist but I think it's just realistic. If humans weren't inherently greedy and selfish then there would be no need for laws that punish theft.

As for whether greed and selfishness have been dominant in human societies... it looks like the rich and powerful in society, throughout history, never gave up their power and wealth unless they were made to do so.

[+] [email protected] -11 points 9 months ago (3 children)

I wonder what arguments people have to justify a downvote. Polarized either/or views. Capitalism is a great idea if regulated. Look to history and find good examples of societies that aren't based on capitalism. They don't exist.

I agree and value the Marxist analysis of capitalism. I'm a socialist. However, I don't think that a Marxist economy would work. Social responsible capitalism works. Capitalism run amok doesn't. Unfortunately, it is getting out of control, especially in the USA.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 9 months ago

What we have here is a capitalism that is devoid of the creation of goods and services; today's capitalism is just neofeudalism in which the capitalist just collects rent without creating anything. This thread is confusing capitalism woth commerce.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

If you were a socialist you'd know what dialectical materialism is and not say something like "Marxist economy".

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

What is the solution for when capitalism purchases the regulators? You can purchase SCOTUS rulings for laughably cheap and legislation for even less. If you're really into it, you can spend several decades building up a propaganda network so low information clowns will vote in an obvious con man. He'll drop corporate taxes down to zero, give trillions in handouts, and dismantle pesky shit like the EPA. Profits!