[...] We're certain that our tech giants achieved their dominance fairly and squarely through the free market, by dint of technical genius. To conjure this image of meritocratic triumph requires overlooking several pungent truths about the nature of these new monopolies. Their dominance is less than pure. They owe their dominance to innovation, but also to tax avoidance. [...] Unlike manufacturing or finance, tech doesn't need to be pinned to a geographic home. Tech companies can transfer their core assets, their intellectual property, to whatever tax haven offers the sweetest deal. They have hatched schemes that their competitors--brick-and-mortar firms, media companies--couldn't dare attempt.
ok im hardly an apologist for these companies but like tax avoidance is the smallest part of why they've achieved so much ... whether they achieved it "fairly and squarely through the free market" only matters if we accept that the market itself is perfect, which imo is a belief that more and more people are starting to question