Surveillance capitalism’s lawlessness echoes the Gilded Age robber barons

Evidence

These claims to lawless space are remarkably similar to those of the robber barons of an earlier century. Like the men at Google, the late-nineteenth-century titans claimed undefended territory for their own interests, declared the righteousness of their self-authorizing prerogatives, and defended their new capitalism from democracy at any cost. At least in the US case, we have been here before. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 339

Categorization

• XREF: Parallels the historical argument in the library’s other works on Gilded Age capitalism and anti-democratic elite rule. — connects to: Digital growth coincided with inequality levels unseen since the Gilded Age — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 133; Surveillance capitalists parallel Gilded Age industrialists in exploiting law to escape constraints — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 341; Surveillance capitalism advanced through corporate control, lawless space, and cultural fortification against scrutiny — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 321 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Surveillance capitalists parallel Gilded Age industrialists in exploiting law to escape constraints #corroborates (0.95) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 341
• Surveillance capitalism conquered through unilateral declarations, not permission seeking #corroborates (0.85) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 564
• Surveillance capitalism functions as a profoundly antidemocratic social force #expands (0.80) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1643
• Surveillance capitalism’s dangers exceed privacy and monopoly concerns #expands (0.80) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 546
• Surveillance capitalism advanced through corporate control, lawless space, and cultural fortification against scrutiny #qualifies (0.75) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 321
• Surveillance capitalism rests on extreme inequalities of knowledge and power #expands (0.75) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 45