The Future Is Going to Be a Trillium People, Right?

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Technology markets are specially prone to super concentration of market share and monopoly. In tech, it's interesting because most of the tech markets are mediated through networks. We call that network effects. And again our other industries, most of the economy is already prone to monopoly. With capitalism, we had a standard oil monopoly for 18 hundreds years. Then he branched into railroads, which are based on networks,. Which are particularly popular with rich people. That's why these platforms are so dominant. So you want to do video? Like otee rote! Or if you've got a video e-mail or something like that, i can feel like i've done my job. O

Paris Marx is joined by Rob Larson to discuss how tech billionaires use philanthropy to massage their images, how they're creating a world that leaves nearly everyone else worse off, and how we need to respond with an online socialism to bring tech platforms under worker control.

Rob Larson is the author of “Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley” and an economics professor at Tacoma Community College. He also recently wrote about how billionaire-funded philanthropy is a public-relations scam for Jacobin and how the tech platforms are on their best behavior during COVID-19 for Current Affairs. Follow Rob on Twitter as @IronicProfessor.

Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

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