The loudest economists use economic theory as a cudgel. You are right to find them infuriating. They assert certainty where economics does not, and cherry pick exceptions to hold up as rules. They are to economics as RFK Jr is to medicine.

The math of economics is more like the math of epidemiology or fluid dynamics than the math of mechanical linkages. It describes how things tend to interact within a system, but a given element or interaction is unpredictable. Even concrete sections, like price theory, have contradictions like the velvet rope effect. It describes probable outcomes in a chaotic system running on irrational humans.

Meteorology is still a math-based science that makes useful predictions, even though it cannot say with certainty whether a particular tropical depression will become a hurricane.

Try Thomas Piketty, or Emmanuel Saez. Or if you want someone older, try Jean Jaurès. Just because rich people love sociopath economists doesn’t mean there aren’t good ones out there.

[edit: adding a snippet]:

Together with economists Thomas Piketty and Gabriel Zucman, Saez’s work claims top earners in the United States have taken an increasingly larger share of overall income over the last three decades, with almost as much economic inequality as before the Great Depression. Saez recommends much higher marginal tax rates, of up to 70% or 90%. Among other honors, he received the John Bates Clark Medal in 2009 and a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship in 2010.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win, then they infiltrate you, then they exploit your userbase.

Perverts bought pervert glasses from pervert corp to perv on women without their knowledge or consent. Then they found out that pervert corp, which is famous for perving on its customers without their knowledge or consent, has been perving on the pervert glasses perverts, without their knowledge or consent. The perverts are both surprised and upset that they have become victims of perving while trying to perv.

These aren’t the kind of saber-rattling disputes that make it to trial (or even go beyond the sternly worded letters stage). Neither side wants to fight it in court, because it’s a murky. The most noteworthy recent curtailing of it was when SCOTUS went 5-4 in favor of religion over profit in Hobby Lobby, which is hardly a strong case for board independence.

Being delicious food is a competitive advantage; just ask fruit. Domesticated farm animals in general are really nice. I grew up in a time and place of family farms, where animals were given a good life from people who cared, before becoming delicious food.

“The company says it may share user information in limited emergencies if it believes disclosure is necessary to prevent death or serious physical injury.”

Also keep in mind: Your chat logs are company assets. Even if today’s decision makers believe maintaining user trust is net profitable, that will not always be true. Some day, maybe when the pullback comes and the wolves are at the gates, or when they sell the company, or when a shareholder action asserts fiduciary duty to maximize shareholder value, your chat logs will be sold and mined in the most lucrative way possible. The way that extracts the most value from you, the product.

Your disgust is valid. But the developer generally has no gall, and no agency. The corporation tells them to pack and monetize the clickthroughs like feeding puppies into a sausage machine. The developer never thought that would be the job.

In fact, every time you don’t see something like this, it’s because some developer said, “Enough, I won’t do this,” putting their job (and their next rent payment) on the line. I lost two jobs that way.

Don’t let them divide us. The fascist oligarchs are the villains.

Pas du tout, c’est la faute de les oligarches fachos, qui viennent principalement de mon pays.

As an American living in France: I came here because France is better than this.

En tant qu’Américain vivant en France : je suis venu ici parce que la France est mieux que cela.