alt Hacker NewsYes and commercial entities aren’t some absolute evil constantly repressing us either.
Both government and private entities have checks on their power in the form of voting (government) or in the case of commercial entities, the market itself (voting with your dollar). Both entities can and do abuse their power.
However, only one group is always granted a monopoly and legally allowed to force you to comply and buy their products at gunpoint (government).
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Your model has a major gap in it.
Markets don’t come into existence ex nihilo. They come into existence by regulation setting the rules to ensure that the system works for humans.
You have nothing without regulation and government power, setting up the rules and enforcing them.
Further, when we look at the merits of the case which is driving this entire conversation, Meta acted in a manner that most people would consider evil.
And the market is rewarding them for it.
More or less the definition of a state is that it upholds the monopoly of violence within its borders. In modern liberal states that monopoly comes with extensive regulations on how, when and by whom violence should be used. This is called the rule of law. The regulations are usually broadly enumerated in the constitution or similar basic law, and in more detail in ordinary legislation. In democratic states these are ideally determined by the population, usually via some representatives.
Sorry if it sounds like I'm stating the obvious, but this is the rationale why many people think that some powers may be granted to the institution with the sole legitimate power to force you to comply at gunpoint.