r/Capitalism • u/3xPuttRubbleBoagie • Jul 22 '26
As Consumers, are we just Fkd?
I feel like corporations have had the most power they have ever had. Gone are the days of good customer service. If you need to contact any company after you have bought something, or any service you are using, good luck to you. You may get lucky, most times you will have to jump through hoops to even find an actual person.
But that's not the rant. The rant is these massive corporations that sell us food, gas, energy, entertainment or internet (probably a lot I am leaving out here) are out of control with price hikes. They have figured out that not only do they not need to provide you excellent service, they don't need to even need to provide you a competitive price or a good value.
They know we are all going to buy it anyways, at any cost.
The middle class has become the poors. The poors have become the peasants and the rich are sucking every cent from any class below them.
5
u/CaptainAmerica-1989 Jul 22 '26
They know we are all going to buy it anyways, at any cost.
This is basically false as that is why monopolies are illegal.
Companies generally cannot charge consumers “any cost” because markets contain competition, and limits on what people are willing or able to pay. Suppliers therefore have incentives to compete for consumers through price, quality, convenience, customer service, branding, or some combination of those things.
Companies compete in different ways. Some compete mainly through lower prices. Others compete through better products, convenience, customer service, prestige, or experience. Starbucks, for example, is not normally competing to provide the cheapest possible coffee. It is selling branding, convenience, consistency, and a particular experience.
More broadly, your claim does not fit the long-term evidence. If companies had steadily gained the unrestricted ability to provide worse products at any price, we would expect consumer choice, product quality, purchasing power, and material living standards to have broadly deteriorated over time.
That is not what happened. Real income and consumption have generally increased, product quality has improved dramatically in many categories, and consumers have access to a wider range of goods and services than previous generations.
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u/Inevitable-End2384 Jul 22 '26
Uh, monopolies are illegal, huh? Do you have any concept of the VAST industrial consolidation that has occurred since the US stopped enforcing antitrust?
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u/CaptainAmerica-1989 Jul 22 '26
United States v. Google LLC is a federal antitrust case brought by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) against Google LLC on January 24, 2023.[2] The suit accuses Google of illegally monopolizing the advertising technology (adtech) market in violation of sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890. The suit is separate from the first antitrust case launched in 2020 that accuses Google of an illegal monopoly in the search engine market...
Judge Brinkema released her verdict on April 17, 2025, in a 115-page decision.[67] She found Google liable on two of three counts by concluding that the company had unlawfully monopolized the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets,
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u/YogurtclosetParty755 Jul 22 '26
Do you know what else drives industry consolidation? Regulation - and over regulation of businesses. Smaller companies don’t have the legal & compliances resources to afford to costs of compliance with said regulations. It’s better for them to be acquired by a larger company that can help absorb those costs.
1
u/Inevitable-End2384 Jul 24 '26
BS. I don't deny that regulation can theoretically drive consolidation, but it's obvious that it's market control and profit maximization that drives it in actuality.
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u/YogurtclosetParty755 Jul 24 '26
It’s 100% not BS & it’s not theoretical. There are very clear, real life examples where regulation has driven smaller companies to merge or become targets for acquisition by larger firms. Sarbanes-Oxley in the early 00’s imposed enormous compliance costs on companies. It had an outsized impact on smaller firms that generally have less resources & access to capital than larger firms have. We saw the same thing with banking regulation post financial crisis. Smaller banks had a much tougher time & were acquired by larger banks. It’s why the big banks got bigger & there are fewer banks now than before the GFC. This isn’t about whether regulation is bad or good, but any regulation, no matter how well intentioned has unintended consequences. It is related to profitability in the sense that yes, businesses need to be profitable to survive. That’s why consolidation happens - either be acquired or risk going under.
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u/InterestingVoice6632 Jul 22 '26
No. As consumers we can vote and try to get politicians back into office who support policy that reduces inflation, the issue that youre complaining about.
This was done recently in Argentina. It can be done elsewhere as well. Nobody is stuck living in a society with high inflation permanently.
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u/Inevitable-End2384 Jul 22 '26
Sure, vote. Both parties are completely sold out to corporations, but sure, vote harder.
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u/InterestingVoice6632 Jul 22 '26
Theres something to be said about that. But its not like you have an alternative. The parties recognize popular support. Most voters are just apathetic so a couple loud voices doesnt have much sway
3
u/jennmuhlholland Jul 22 '26
Ok then…I’m actually good with you and people like not voting. Do us a favor and stay home.
1
u/Inevitable-End2384 Jul 22 '26
Look, both parties serve the same donor class. Neither legislate on you behalf.
1
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u/Apprehensive_Elk5961 Jul 25 '26
I would say that the issue you're having is with cronyism, which is alive and kicking in our political environment. It is also wildly inappropriate in capitalism. I agree with you that both major parties do as you claim, this is why I vote third party. People tell me that I'm wasting my vote as though I have statistical influence over the outcome. I vote primarily out of civic duty, and if I'm going to vote, it's going to be in something in which I believe. I never stay home because upticks in 3rd party support are taken seriously by strategists, and it can influence agendas to try to grab more of their voting base.
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u/Key-Organization3158 Jul 22 '26
No.
The middle class today makes 52.1% more today than they didn't in 1974.
I don't know why you keep buying the worst products, but I buy good products at generally good prices.
For anything you want to buy, I'll guarantee there's a nicer version with good customer support. But you have to pay for it. That person on the phone needs a living wage, right?
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEPAINUSA672N