Rob Larson is a professor of economics at Tacoma Community College and author of Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley, out now from Haymarket Books.
Many people know that economic inequality has grown significantly over the past few decades. But it may shock you just how much global wealth is controlled by a tiny capitalist class — and how much power that gives them.
In a landmark decision by a federal judge this month, Google was found guilty of illegal monopolistic conduct. What happens next — and will it be enough to rein in the search giant’s massive power?
Last month, the Justice Department charged tech giant Apple with serious antitrust violations related to the iPhone. It’s a relatively aggressive suit — but likely an inadequate response to Apple’s outsize power.
Facebook parent company Meta is facing a massive lawsuit alleging the company is knowingly hurting young people, including by accepting underage use. Court documents suggest this is true — and that executives have been egregiously callous about harms to kids.
Former FTX head Sam Bankman-Fried is now on trial for massively defrauding his company’s customers and lenders. The lurid web of lies the trial is uncovering strengthens the case that crypto is a giant scam.
The Federal Trade Commission has taken Amazon to court over monopolistic practices. The trial is demonstrating just how much market power the corporate behemoth wields — and that we probably need more than meager antitrust law to rein it in.
Google is now on trial for illegally building a monopoly over online search — but given the weak state of US antitrust law, the company is likely to emerge unscathed. To check Google’s power, we need to bring it under public, democratic control.
Don’t let the shiny products and ping-pong tables at work fool you: tech platforms are just as reliant on a wretched, toiling workforce as any other company under capitalism.
Elon Musk and his billionaire brethren have all sorts of harebrained solutions to fix US transportation. But we already know what would benefit workers: well-funded public transit and fast trains, powered by a renewable energy grid that serves everyone.
Processing chips have become central to our lives, running smartphones and TVs alike. But disruptions in the chip industry are driving up inflation — and exposing the industry for the ugly capitalist oligopoly that it is.
The federal government’s landmark lawsuit against Google has been hailed as a bold step to rein in Big Tech. But we’ll need much more than US antitrust law to match the economic power of a global juggernaut like Google.
Bill Gates recently resigned from the board of Microsoft to focus full time on philanthropy. It’s a perfect time to remember: billionaire-funded philanthropy is a public-relations scam.
Congress is demanding that Silicon Valley companies release their internal emails. If history is any guide, we know what to expect: revelations of anti-worker scheming, corporate power plays, and all sorts of other malevolent machinations.
Boeing’s corner-cutting likely killed hundreds of people in the recent Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air crashes. Capitalism is to blame.
Milton Friedman was wrong. Capitalism doesn’t foster freedom — it produces autocratic workplaces and tyrannical billionaires.
The Left should push rising popular outrage at drug companies’ extortionate prices to its tipping point.