Powerless Corporations Bend to Consumer Will on Censorship.

On Thursday, I wrote about suspicious suppression of email by AOL, MS-Hotmail and Yahoo. King Banaian, economist, radio host and conservative blogger, begged to differ, making the free market point that users of free email services signed an agreement, and the companies are perfectly within their rights to censor content unless they promised no censorship.

I am extremely reluctant to accept the professor's line of reasoning, because after reading over several of my own service contracts, I can find no promises from these companies that they will not descend upon my lawn in helicopters and proceed to attack my skull with power drills.

Of course, it would be reasonable for me to assume they would not.

The good professor makes a further distinction remarkable for one who studies the economy:

The government can censor because it relies on force.  The corporation can only persuade you to do business with them, or not.

Let us pause here to tote up the ways and number of times in which the government, relying on force, has censored or otherwise limited the freedoms of Americans. Now, let us calculate how money has similarly been employed.

Is it necessary to do the math?

Whether you are a network television executive, subprime lender, televangelist or contributor to the Republican party, you understand that money is how you exert your will in a capitalist society. Force has nothing to do with it. And in fact, with the proper application of cash, you can neuter the government's so-called force. This is what George Will and others would call the exercise of free speech.

The poor corporation cannot jack up your insurance premiums, foreclose on your mortgage, charge you exorbitant fees, suppress your email, sell you a piece of crap, pollute your well or tell you to take a flying hike. It quavers before the mighty consumer's will, in case you hadn't noticed.

The other day, I spent nearly an hour with Capital One No Hassle Miles booking a flight. No Hassle is a marketing slogan, but it's not spelled out in the contract, sucker.

I have already taken the economist's advice. Long ago I dropped AOL and I stopped using the Capital One card in exchange for one that promised less and did more. I use a Mac instead of a PC.

I'm down with his free market thing.

But I find it extremely comical that an economist can overlook how corporations enjoy the protections of government — particularly through lobbying, political back scratching and the courts.

A corporation can only persuade you? Come on, King, you're much smarter than that.

Comments

[kb]

Click the link for response, please.