Steve Randy WaldmanMay 20, 2023
"during the decade-plus in which Uber was pissing away the Saudi royal family's billions subsidizing rides, cities dismantled their public transit, even as residents made decisions about where to live and work based on the presumption that Uber was charging a fair, sustainable price for rides." @pluralistic https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/19/fake-it-till-you-make-it/
Pluralistic: Venture predation (19 May 2023) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

Show threadDavid C

@interfluidity @pluralistic this was interesting since the usual take I hear on predatory pricing is less skeptical of the eventual outcome for the predator

I think the article is gesturing at the possibility for success (in the complaints that we insufficiently regulate monopoly) but also saying most of them are shell games

May 20, 2023 at 3:35pmWeb
Show threadCory DoctorowMay 20, 2023

@djc @interfluidity I think 'shell game ' is the wrong frame. All the post-Chicago theories of successful predation (eg lying to rivals investors about efficiencies to forego price war funding) could fit that description.

The difference there is that the predator can cash out even if they fail to create a monopoly - and in so doing inflict harms on consumers, workers and the sector.