The US has moved beyond simple capitalism to a new era, which might be called late-stage / end-stage capitalism, or some form of dystopian corporatism.

Everything from workers’ rights (obvs) to the rule of law are now ridden roughshod over by the corporations. Politicians are (legally) bribed when necessary, for direct advantage or just to maintain the status quo. On the rare occasion a corporation is subject to the rule of law, it’s via a fine which is so irrelevant as to be an operating expense.

In such a world, of course the CEOs are safe, hidden behind swathes of immoral small print, armies of lawyers, and a disempowered establishment, and with their bomb shelters in non-extradition countries on standby in case anything actually gets threatening.

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az226 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Techno feudalism.

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bamboozled an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It is funny really, the way the systems we've built and the tax we pay, basically goes to protecting those who abuse our systems the most.

The police are like a private army to make sure no one fucks with the psychopathic nutjobs that re running civilization into the ground.

I don't know for sure but it feels like "Citizens United" was a full on disaster.

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kakacik 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

People decided this is acceptable. Not you, certainly nor me, but societies and mankind overall, with their spending and behavior and/or lack thereof.

CEO of UnitedHealthcare was shot dead by person who deemed company's behavior is unacceptable. Horrible case, I am in no way defending it, but I believe everybody understands the motivation behind. If system cannot protect its citizens from predators then some folks tend to protect or avenge themselves or closed ones.

This was by far the most extreme case I've heard in long time. If similar things, maybe less drastic but very personal would be happening to many of those sociopathic greedy folks at helm responsible for vast damages, they would take note. But yeah if nothing really happens, once you have no morals and eternal greed who is there to stop you.

	▲	mft_ 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> People decided this is acceptable. I think this is fluid, and changing. 1) The Democrats of the last decades are just as much the friends of the rich and the corporations as the Republicans. So even if people in the US don't think this is acceptable, there was no meaningful (legal) political route out of it. Except... 2) I believe one of the factors behind the rise of (what is called) populism (both left- and right-wing) is the failure of the mainstream centerist political parties to align with the needs of the people (and especially the poorer side of society) rather than the rich and the corporations. They're presided over ever-growing financial inequality, coupled with ongoing inflation that far outstrips wage growth. The rise of AOC, the grass-roots support for Sanders, and even the rise of Trump (remember the points he campaigned on, rather than his actions when in power) are driven by this. > CEO of UnitedHealthcare was shot dead... As I've mentioned on here before, this was the first time I've seen the sparks of what might be a class consciousness in the US, as people who have lost out due to the awful healthcare situation (or have sympathy with those who have) found common ground, irrespective of their underlying political leanings. But it takes a lot more than one example to trigger a revolution.