{ obligatory recommendation to watch PHK's "Operation Orchestra"[1], which discusses ways free and open software projects can be manipulated }
[1] https://archive.fosdem.org/2014/schedule/event/nsa_operation...
> but we absolutely need corporations to stand up to government
We need solidarity - the people and corporations - to stand up to problems in government. We also need the people and government to stand up to problems in corporations. Hoping that our social problems will be fixed by other people or some other group is a terrible defense strategy. There will always be people that try to control power or money; this requires constant vigilance and push-back from everybody; failure to do so creates more potentially exploitable attack surface.
The technical people that actually implement modern society hold an incredible amount of power. Unfortunately, the people involved are easily distracted with off-topic minutia and vague threats.