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Comment by slim | Hacker News Reader

Oh, I know this! Coming from a third world country, this kind of communication from major companies looks familiar. It happens because uncertainty about rule of law, so the company needs to show public alliegeance to the ruler to obtain protection (and favors eventually). We call this boot licking.

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Good, massive corporations should always fear the government and stay in line under the rule of law.

We've spent far too long where things were the other way around, with the wrong side giving the orders.

Governments have infinite power. Google can't legally kill me, my government can. No corporation can attain even close to the power of a government.

> No corporation can attain even close to the power of a government.

Oh you sweet summer child

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_republic

https://www.realbusinessrescue.co.uk/advice-hub/companies-wo...

>Such exploitation is enabled by collusion between the *state* and favored economic monopolies,

No state, no power.

And what is the difference between a 'state' and a 'corporation'?

What happens when a corporation has more power, influence, control, and private security than a country?

This reminds me of discussing things with libertarians. "It's bad when a government does it, but when a private corporation does it, it's actually okay guys, it's the free market and all."

I still don't know of any legal means for a corporation to own fighter jets or carrier ships so no matter how powerful they will still be weaker than a government.

This is the opposite of the rule of law

So the rule of law is when the government fears the private corporations?

I mean, that sure sounds like what we have now, but it hasn't exactly proven itself to be a great thing for society.

The rule of law is when governments follow actual law not random whims of some stupid idiot. Google can't kill me, governments can kill me. There's no company who can directly kill me unless, again, they get aid from some government. Governments are the most powerful and dangerous gangs in the world.

I generally agree with you but I'm not super sure the dichotomy is that important.

> There's no company who can directly kill me unless, again, they get aid from some government.

Companies can spend a lot of money to buy this government aid. Heck, companies can more or less buy governments altogether.

I mean that's the point. Without a state to buy they don't have that kind of power. Likewise how religion or nationalism turns a fight between a few peoples into a war between millions. The state is the source of that power and violence, not the company by itself.

Corporations hiring mercenaries isn't exactly a novel concept, though, so I remain somewhat unconvinced.

Its a rare thing. Most of the every day power one fears is the government's obviously. I like to think of it this way, if someone made a false complaint about you to the cops, then is he himself the dangerous entity or the actual government gang member who comes to your home.

But if there was no government, or no appreciable power held by the government in that scenario, then the guy would presumably just come after you himself.

Even in your example, the reason why he's filing this false report is because if he were to take matters into his own hands, he would face retribution.

If corporations are the only things then they become defacto equivalent to governments in power. But currently corporations exist within governments.

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