BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Socialist Project - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://socialistproject.ca
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Socialist Project
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/Toronto
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20200308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20201101T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20210314T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20211107T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20220313T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20221106T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Toronto:20210314T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/Toronto:20210314T170000
DTSTAMP:20260503T144308
CREATED:20210310T160049Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210310T232810Z
UID:14935-1615730400-1615741200@socialistproject.ca
SUMMARY:The Big Tech Monopolies and the State /w Grace Blakeley
DESCRIPTION:As the effects of the coronavirus pandemic swept through the global economy\, the average observer could have been forgiven for missing a critical piece of news: by May 2020\, the combined market capitalization of the four largest US tech companies reached one fifth of the entire S&P 500. Four companies – Microsoft\, Apple\, Amazon and Facebook – now account for 20 per cent of the combined value of the 500 largest US corporations – an unparalleled level of market concentration. Forty years ago\, these corporate entities were either just beyond being plucky start-ups\, or did not even exist. Monopolistic tendencies are not limited to the tech sector. In 1975\, the largest 100 US companies accounted for nearly half of the earnings of all publicly listed companies; by 2015\, their share reached 84 per cent. \nCapitalist corporations appear monopolistic when they are able to access the investment needed to gain total market dominance – and as the 21st Century has progressed\, this has proven easier than ever\, especially in big tech. The tech companies emerged in a world of falling profits and associated rising volatility in financial markets – both of which facilitated their access to investment. Many of these companies were initially either unprofitable or loss making\, as they had not yet developed to a sufficient size to exploit the network effects that would provide the foundation for their monopoly-like power. As a result\, they required significant amounts of upfront investment to maintain their operations and to scale up to reach a position of market dominance that would allow them to turn a profit. \nGrace Blakeley is a staff writer at Tribune and author of Stolen: How to Save the World from Financialization. \nAll events are sliding scale. No one is denied admission for inability to pay. If you are unable to pay and would like to attend the event\, please write to info@marxedproject.org. \nPart of the Socialist Register series: Beyond Digital Capitalism.
URL:https://socialistproject.ca/event/big-tech-monopolies/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://socialistproject.ca/content/uploads/2021/03/big-tech-monopolies.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR