Hacker News Reader

That sounds good in theory but I think in practice, at least in the relatively broken representative system in the US, I'm not so sure.

Consider that politicians often operate against the will of ~49% of their constituents. As long as they can maintain a majority, they don't care as much about the minority. I don't think a company, operating in a healthy non-monopolized marketplace, would be as willing to lose 49% of their customers.

Depends on which kind of accountability is more necessary. In the same way that people buy good cheap stuff that works well from Satan himself, they also vote for their ideological allies whether or not public services are within a thousand miles of functioning.

When it is over what is a means of accountability for them (it is the media and not the tech which draws the aggro)? Fuck no - they already forget they are servants and not masters.

in theory, yes. in practice, I'd rather be a customer than a constituent.

comments like above are reminders of how strong libertarianism is in tech circles, for better or worse