Sometimes corporations do good. It is almost always unintentionally, and always out of self interest, but nonetheless it can happen. We insignificant denizens of the internet have not been able to get the federal government to commit to net neutrality, despite the fervent promises of Democrats, at any rate, to promote the concept. Of course, we are used to Democrats running away from their promises even faster than they run away from their principles (amazing how fast you can run without a spine) even when their principles are in accord with what the majority favors.
But I wander.
It looks like we have a fighting chance to get net neutrality, because there are some corporations that want it as much, or more, than we do. Netflix, for example, has a vested interest in keeping the “series of tubes” unobstructed.
It is a sad fact of life that we stand the best chance of having something happen in the public interest that also happens to be in the interest of at least some powerful corporations. It remains to be seen whether Netflix, at the moment, is strong enough to defeat Comcast, but it’s just possible that this is one time when having a Democrat in the White House, and putative Democrats running a regulatory agency, might just make a difference.
At this stage in our history, the internet is a relative anomaly. It is actually a democratic, open institution. If we can preserve that it might make it slightly possible for we the people to counter, at least somewhat, the coming corporate domination of the political process.
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