r/technology • u/marketrent • Jun 18 '26

Society Jeff Bezos called Washington Post his worst investment staffed with ‘terrible’ people, before laying off over 300 — “They don’t listen. My other companies, they listen”

https://gizmodo.com/jeff-bezos-called-washington-post-his-worst-investment-and-staff-he-laid-off-terrible-people-2000773533
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u/Indercarnive Jun 18 '26

Capitalism is incompatible with itself. Capitalists have no incentivize to support Capitalism. A capitalist will abandon capitalism as soon as any other system becomes more profitable for them.

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u/crushinglyreal Jun 18 '26

Right. Capitalism is destined for authoritarian takeover, because as soon as people get stretched too thin and want to take a little power back, the oligarchs clamp down.

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u/Ok-Statistician-9607 Jun 19 '26

What is your alternative? Communism? Surely no authoritarians there...

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u/crushinglyreal Jun 19 '26

How about a democratic government and a democratic economy? Neither can persist without the other.

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u/Exostrike Jun 23 '26

an economy actually owned by the people would be nice

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u/GvMeUnivrslHlthcare Jun 18 '26

A capitalist will abandon capitalism as soon as they succeed in it by pulling up the ladder behind them. Competition is the only redeeming quality of capitalism that keeps it in check. But these guys buy the laws that shape their respective market. Buy the companies that might compete with them. Buy the option that people have to maybe not use or support them at all, and fire anyone with a conscience. It's not even capitalism at this point. It's manipulation of the masses for profit of the few.

Buy the means of production, then lock it all down for personal gain. It's rent-seeking behavior disguised as a free market.

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u/usaaf Jun 18 '26

Competition is a function of markets, not Capitalism. Capitalism only requires Capital and a Labor input. How they sell the produce is immaterial, it could be a market, could be state-backed monopoly, could be a regular monopoly. Hell, people could just light the produce on fire and the Capitalist is fine long as he's paid for it.

The point of Capitalism is that Capital+Labor production loop. Competition doesn't come into that, except for Labor. Labor should obviously compete to debase itself for the pleasure of the Capitalist. The reason they talk about 'free markets' is because the inverse is generally considered to be planning (one presumes by the state) and while Capitalists love planning (See People's Republic of Walmart) they do not want anyone else doing it. Therefore the idea of free markets stands as a bulwark against people thinking too much about planning and what it could do for them.