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To the extent this is true, the only counterforce I can think of is competition.

Companies like this can be outcompeted by others that manage to be less bloated, at least for the moment.

that assumes the market is competitive: this is not always the case and is less and less so, every year that goes by. there are so many products out there that used over and over by the same companies for no other reason than it's too painful to switch.

I didn't claim it was easy or that competition on the average market is perfect.

But I do claim it's the only counterforce there is.

In theory, but in practice things aren’t that neat; anti-competitive practices and credibility are some items which enable bloat

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