Enshitification of American power

For decades, allies With the widespread American hegemony, I lived comfortably within the United States. They built financial institutions, communications systems and national defense in addition to the infrastructure provided by the US.

And now they probably want them away.

Cory Doctorow 2022 It was created The term “enshitification” describes a cycle that has been repeated over and over again in the online economy. Entrepreneurs begin to make heartfelt promises to get new users to try their platform. But when users, vendors and advertisers are locked up by network effects, insurmountable collective behavior problems, high switching costs and tactical changes. Platform owners start squeezing users for everything they can get, despite the platform being filled with lower quality slops. After that, the vendors and advertisers will also start narrowing down.

People usually don’t think of military hardware, US dollars, or satellite signs as platforms. But that’s what they are. When American allies purchase advanced military technology such as F-35 fighter jets, they have acquired not only airplanes but also suites of related communications technology, parts supply and technical support. When companies engage in global finance and trade, they regularly route transactions through a platform called the Dollar Clearing System, managed by only a handful of US regulatory agencies. And if the country needs to establish an internet connection in a place that is difficult to reach, they could rely on a satellite constellations with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, a single company with deep connections to the American nation. Like Facebook and Amazon, American hegemony is maintained by network logic, making all of these platforms difficult and expensive.

For decades, American allies embraced US control of these systems because they believed in America’s commitment to a “rules-based international order.” They can no longer persuade them. President Trump vows to acquire Greenland from Denmark, not in a world where he is threatening Canadian annex, I’ll announce “If American high-tech platforms require that they adopt a global content moderation policy,” foreign authorities may be banned from entering the United States.”

Since Trump took office in January, rapid enshittification has actually become a principle of American national organisation. Now, Trump World understands that it has the freedom to use a vast array of forced machines at its disposal when controlling the infrastructure layers of global finance, technology and security. As Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently said, “The United States is beginning to monetize its hegemony.”

So what do allies do? As core products get worse, many people are still learning how difficult it can be to leave the network, like individual consumers trapped in Google search and Facebook. And like countless startups that have tried to create alternatives to Twitter and Facebook over the years, most have been forgotten. success– Other allies are now rushing desperately to find a way to build their own network.

Infrastructure tends to do It won’t be visible until it starts to be used against you. In 2020, the US imposed sanctions on Hong Kong’s chief executive, Carrie Lamb, for suppressing democratic protests on behalf of China. At one time, Ram has become uniquely familiar with the power of the dollar clearing system, a layer of financial machinery in the world that most people have never heard of.