The New Robber Barons

 What to do, given the clout and predilections of our current robber barons? Ironically, maybe the best answer would be to reverse the course of action taken by the original progressives in their attempt to rein in the original robber barons.

How so? If the conduct of the original robber barons eventually led to big-government progressivism, the conduct of our modern robber barons could lead to the gradual reversal of the process that gave us an ever-expanding federal government in the first place.

Let's first concede that both sets of robber barons have been innovators and builders, who have made life better in many ways for countless numbers of Americans.

The negative impact of Big Tech on society, while subtle, is much greater and ultimately much more damaging than anything the original robber barons might have imagined - or imposed.

Really now, what could be more ironic than one day looking back and realizing that this reversal, this devolution, had been triggered by the actions of a new cadre of robber barons whose grasp for power and control far exceeded anything that the Rockefellers and Carnegies could have ever envisioned?

The problem today is not simply the existence of robber barons, but the link between our robber barons and one of our two major political parties.

Adding even more to the irony of it all is this: The power and influence of our modern robber barons is so great, and the possibility of a permanent one-party state is so real, that action must now be taken against not one, but two powerful forces, namely Big Tech and the federal bureaucracy that was initially called into being to counter robber barons far less daunting and far less damaging than the robber barons of today.

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2023/05/the_new_robber_barons.html