Speculative fiction writers, whether they be “science-y” or not, often bring us visions of possible futures. Some are optimistic, some less so. Some fall into the “dystopian” category, defined by the Oxford Languages folks as, “relating to or denoting an imagined state or society where there is great suffering or injustice.”

Used to be, dystopian fiction brought us cautions of over-governance, with 1984 and Brave New World the standouts in the field. The cautionary tales’ bogeymen shifted, over time, to Big Business, with corporations growing to supplant national governments as the real power. Unaccountable power at that. Naturally, those unaccountable CEOs exploit and dominate the masses in their endless pursuit of wealth and power, and naturally, the masses are worse off for it, often living in miserable squalor while the mega-rich enjoy unimaginable luxuries.

There are many such “corporate dystopia” novels, and while they vary quite a bit, they typically describe the rise of power as born solely of greed and power.

In other words, “qualities” typically assigned to libertarians and conservatives.

However, we have the words of C.S. Lewis (oft quoted here), to warn us off the worst source of dystopia:

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

These past couple weeks have served to expand the categorization of “omnipotent moral busybodies” beyond the normal bounds of government and into the corporate sphere. It has indeed been the woke-embracing Big Tech that is seeking to impose a benevolent tyranny upon us, purportedly in the name of public safety, after ignoring for years the vitriol and incitement to violence that some propagated through its platforms. That this is ideological in origin is beyond doubt. That this is not a blip on the radar is also beyond doubt.

Some who bristle at this want government to intervene. As I’ve discussed here, here, and here, this is a mistake. It’s born, at least in some cases, of the fiction that Big Government and Big Business are opposing factions. This parallels the mistake in splitting the political aisle between Left and Right, when the more accurate split is Big Government and Small Government. The reality is that Big Government and Big Business are best buddies (to put it politely), that they feed off each other, and that each benefits from cooperation with the other. It’s called corporatism, or cronyism (I refuse to give credence to “crony capitalism” because there’s nothing capitalistic about using the coercive monopoly power of government for personal or corporate gain), and it’s a far more apt descriptor of our current economic system than any other.

When we look at the world to see who our friends are, and who we should be skeptical of; when we sort things into “us” and “them,” it behooves us to recognize that there is more than one class of “them” out there.

It’s always been big statist governments that have done the most oppressing in human history, and that oppression has typically been born of “for the good of the people” movements. We see a parallel here with the rise of these “woke-corporations,” that purport to some sort of social responsibility. As they appoint themselves the arbiters of good and bad, they will increasingly mirror those oppressive governments’ behavior in their stifling of dissent or “unacceptable” information. They’re already tight with their like-minded government counterparts, and while there’ll be the bread-and-circuses to make us think they are at cross purposes, we are not getting out of this oppression by asking them to stand against them.

• About the Author

About Peter Venetoklis

I am twice-retired, a former rocket engineer and a former small business owner. At the very least, it makes for interesting party conversation. I'm also a life-long libertarian, I engage in an expanse of entertainments, and I squabble for sport.

Nowadays, I spend a good bit of my time arguing politics and editing this website.

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