I think that a lot of works in the modern corporate dystopia genre, particularly the ones which themselves are intended for wide distribution and are published by major corporations, simplify how corporate feudalism works in a possibly intentionally misleading way - ThreadSky

epistemophagy.bsky.social • 62 days ago

I think that a lot of works in the modern corporate dystopia genre, particularly the ones which themselves are intended for wide distribution and are published by major corporations, simplify how corporate feudalism works in a possibly intentionally misleading way

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latisserande.bsky.social•62 days ago

the "actually it's crony capitalism" YA

jeffreadwrite.bsky.social•62 days ago

📌

vicesignalling.bsky.social•62 days ago

I don't read anything in this genre. Could you give some examples of simplifications and how they are misleading?

moonrakerone.bsky.social•62 days ago

It's why I laugh at tankies who are like, "if China or Russia can get big enough to stop US imperialism they will!"
😶

epistemophagy.bsky.social•62 days ago

The megacorporation, as a figure in modern corporate-dystopic fiction, is essentially a state. It openly maintains armed forces. Sometimes it openly goes to war against other megacorps that also maintain armed forces. It maintains sovereign economic zones in which it replaces the traditional state.

epistemophagy.bsky.social•62 days ago

But in reality, like, why would a megacorp maintain its own military? Certainly there are many imaginable cases in which a megacorp could stand to gain considerably from military expeditions, but why privatise the losses? No, absorbing the losses is what the state and the people are for

epistemophagy.bsky.social•62 days ago

Intercorporate warfare is also extremely unlikely. It gives the false impression that companies large enough to be considered megacorps are likely to have any conflict of purposes which can't be more efficiently solved by banding together to more viciously screw their lessers

provostprovolone.bsky.social•62 days ago

They usually "solve" that in some corporate dystopia fiction by having corporations divided along ethnic lines (Cyberpunk 2077 being a big example of this)

But now you mention it, that does sound increasingly stupid. There are some particularly rooted corps, but for most profit transcends borders.

epistemophagy.bsky.social•62 days ago

The same applies to megacorporate sovereignty. Yeah, the charter city push is intensifying, but the charter cities in question are notably seeking additional rights for corporations, while pointedly avoiding any additional responsibility. Once again, the responsibility is passed on to us

andrewfx51.bsky.social•62 days ago

Gibson knew his subject matter

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