Sometime is the 90’s microsoft seemed to be pissing – or taking the piss – on users, developers, laws, etc. by monopolising internet explorer via means like: disabling other browsers, not letting other browsers be “main” one, etc.. With that kind of background, the young googlers came up with a promise they had to break.
The inevitability of breaking the evil promise is, I think, because capitalism can not let it happen. As capitalism, as an ideology and a practice, is made of winning and losing, of power and fear, of weak and strong, of number exchanged based on more and less – hierarchical structure and its innate abuse-based usage of power, are integral and immanent. There can be no capitalism without such hierarchical exchanges, they constitute the system itself. Indeed, capitalism is a system, not a network or a cluster, etc..
Once googlers – or any kind of grouping – gets to be a top dog, like any other animal, they’d take that power and try to maximise it for themselves. I’d do that, and I think anyone else would as well.
That is one of the reasons I do not want power. (energy yes, power – no thanks!)
Googlers, in my view, can not be excused for “hey this is capitalism and we are its animals”, because they didn’t Have to be capitalistic.
However, I also think they should not be vilified for that very vilification will excuse us, give us the feeling that the system is cool but the googlers aren’t, and therefore create the very imagination that will cultivate a next lot of power junkies.