@AlanS > Aside from looming catastrophic global environmental failure, is late-stage any different from early- or mid-stage capitalism? Yes. Even though Bruce says "Like all for-profit corporations, SolarWinds aims to increase shareholder value by minimizing costs and maximizing profit.", that is *itself* a marker for late-stage capitalism. It isn't *necessary* to run a business that way, and indeed wasn't the modus operandi for American capitalism in the 1950s, and isn't how capitalism is currently practiced in places like China. The key difference is in who the company is set up to serve: the community/society, the customers, or the shareholders. And while Bruce also says "The only way to force companies to provide safety and security features for customers and users is with government intervention.", I would argue that other mechanisms *could* be brought to bear. The problem, though, is that businesses have let things go too far. They've become downright *unprofessional*. So, yeah, sadly, we're at the stage where the government must step in, because it still remains accountable to The People in a way that corporations no longer feel obligated to be. dbec4470bccde2f2c2f3121fa30f850a623fc8c15b2d54c299e23edbb8203c64