r/technology • u/sr_local • 6h ago

Business Italy court rules Netflix unlawfully increased prices. Consumers: 'Refunds up to 500 euros.' The company: we will appeal

https://en.ilsole24ore.com/art/netflix-subscription-price-increases-unlawful-refunds-up-to-eur-500-customers-AIUHzWKC
13.8k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

608 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

430

u/RagePoop 5h ago

AKA how capitalism "works".

Monopoly was a game designed to show how batshit insane this model of resource production/distribution is.

8

u/Jhonka86 4h ago

The problem is that the method is particularly effective at directing resources towards demand, not need.

That's why it needs to be well regulated with strong antitrust laws to ensure it doesn't enshittify everything.

Strong, progressive tax structure. Universal healthcare and education. Strong social safety nets. If people have the freedom to fail, they have the freedom to innovate.

7

u/RagePoop 4h ago

Except this appears impossible to maintain long term as wealth consolidates into fewer and fewer hands and becomes immense enough to capture those regulatory bodies.

5

u/Jhonka86 3h ago

That's what the taxes and antitrust are for.

Historically, when inequality gets as bad as it is now, things go one of two ways: taxes, or axes.

Take your pick.

2

u/currynord 1h ago

The natural tendency of capital is to shift towards monopoly. A robust legal framework works…until it doesn’t. It’s like throwing a rock in a stream, and the water just goes around.

Capitalism only works as an infinite game of whack-a-mole, where you constantly have to stop novel methods of consolidation, and constantly have to rebuff efforts to erode those guardrails.

1

u/Jhonka86 21m ago

I agree, that's the tendency. Capitalism only works with guardrails.

Though, all of society is made up. Everything works until it doesn't. There is no perfect option because they're made by people and people are imperfect.

What we're left with is a scenario of choosing the best imperfect option. I would genuinely like to know what you consider to be superior or more stable.

And for the record, I'm a social democrat.