The first part was responding to the idea that the internet hasn’t really gotten better for the consumer in the last decade, despite technological advancements. And I see the reason for that being the regulatory capture of the American government, which allows a few massive conglomerates to monopolize and organize cartels in various internet-adjacent domains. Any reasonable version of America would have invoked antitrust a long, long time ago.

The second part is referencing the specific problems most HNers see with the modern internet: giant SPAs with huge packet sizes and questionable, non-accessible, hand-rolled functionality. And I think the reason for that is that our system is barely functioning right now: we made stock buybacks legal again for some reason, and executive pay and shareholder dividends were already absurdly high. Big SPAs that supposedly do everything, and the mobile apps that they mimic, have become a way to lower expenses rather than an additive new medium for business. When was the last time you talked to a business on the phone?

Long story short, capitalism makes bad websites by underpaying, underhiring, and overspeccing.