• grue@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    A true anarcho-capitalist would want to abolish copyright (being a literal government-granted monopoly), so companies like Microsoft would have a hard time existing.

    • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Companies like Microsoft would still exist. There would just be more actual violence related to protecting their brand/product.

      Anarcho-capitalists sprint towards monopoly and fascism. Where regular capitalists just dance around it.

    • sorrybookbroke@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      Nah, that just means they can take whatever they want from others too. Now they own all the smaller projects as well, and any changes they make to linux don’t have to be shared. Linux is now winix, and they’ve paid the computer companies to nolonger allow linux to be installed at all via hardware. What, that’s anti-competative? Yeah, who’s gonna stop them? You? You don’t have the resources.

      What, could you make a windows clone? Could you then out-compete the multi-billion dollar company in the market? What PC would allow you to install your windows clone? Also, Microsoft now owns the land you live on. You must leave, they are the owners of that land and thus make the rules. Want to fight back? too bad, they own the private police force too. Policing is an industry, and currently the government has a monopoly over it. Without regulations they’re now a free org who takes the highest bid. You don’t have enough money to live while copying Microsoft Windows. Nobody does.

      What? Another company will use they’re resources to compete with windows? Why would they win? Microsoft has more resources, will buy more output, will pay more companies for exclusivity, and can have them put a system in to brick the PC if you try not using windows. Sure, they may be able to get a small industry set up, but none of what they make will inter-operate with windows and now this small fraction of PC users is isolated. Why would anyone switch?

      No, anarcho capitalism won’t stop Microsoft’s existence because of copyright. Copyright in many ways protects smaller orgs more, and with no other regulations stopping the big orgs from stomping out the small orgs it won’t matter. The only possible fight would be between the titans and when one titan wins, that’s no more helpful to the small people.

      • grue@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        You say that as if billion-dollar megacorp Microsoft would’ve sprung fully-formed from Bill Gates’ forehead. In reality, no proprietary software company would ever have gotten big and powerful in the first place.

        • Eldritch@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          We literally have anti trust law on the books because that claim is false. Companies cooperate all the time to extort people.

        • chrash0@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          IBM then. or, i don’t know, the British Royal Family?

          the reality of talking about extremist economics is no one knows how it would work out in the long term. but regardless, if it happened tomorrow we already have a Microsoft to deal with.

          “taxation is theft” “wage labour is exploitation”

          sometimes things are subtle and complicated and can’t be practically boiled down to absolutes.

        • sorrybookbroke@sh.itjust.works
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          6 months ago

          But they are now, they exist currently. The fuck are you talking about. If we became an ancap society they wouldn’t magically disapear. What, you think that any ancap would ask for these companies to disolve before they’re society started? To go back to square one? Nah, that’s not what the guy pictured or any popular ancap has suggested. That’s not randian, that’s some fantasy. Rands suggested solution necesitates the lalrger corporations gaining control. To be allowed to freely operate. Name me one ancap thought leader who suggests a mass reset and that in no world a large corp could form.

          Also, even if ancap sociaty started from scratch eventually a company would gain power over an industry. With nothing to stop them, the biggest companies would inevitably grow bigger. That’s capitalism, the need to grow is constant and one cannot stagnate. Not neccessarally a bad thing but with no guide rails it logically means monopoly. No, a lack of copyright law wouldn’t stop any company from growing to a size where they could kill competition.

          When there’s a new industry too, they’ll be the ones to pioneer it. What, do you think Microsoft came fully formed from bill gates forehead? No, the current companies at the time would have taken gates designs and copies them. They, with their distribution networks, would easily outcompete. What if bill made a better product? Well, no copyright, it’s now theirs.