It's kinda funny to hear these protests. In a "true fascist" society, you wouldn't be surprised to see someone killed in the name of political power. But in a "true capitalist" society, you're shocked that money triumphs over virtue? It's not a "virtuist" society, is it?
Authoritarian capitalists exist. Larry Ellison, Alex Karp, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg - they love when you think that capitalism plays by written rules. It helps them use your tax dollars to pay for their surveillance services. It helps them sell you B2C products that degrade the moral fabric of America, and rewrite legislation through online influence campaigns. You can say it "isn't capitalism" because you don't agree with it politically, but the accrual of capital is precisely how all 4 of those men became powerful. Their influence on social media is why they're able to reframe the national discussion how they want. Their money is what lets them turn political willpower into a business, or a rubber chicken into a politician.
After all, what is Reddit or 4chan if not one big capitalist influence campaign? Do you really think product reviews and political ragebait is driven by some natural and benevolent social force that we can't see or feel?
