The Enshittification of American Power

«Enshittification» is such a great term for describing why most of the web is way shittier than it could be. The idea: Platforms like Facebook attract people and businesses, but as soon as they’ve locked them in, they gradually turn on them until in the end, only the platform’s own interests count. In this essay, the author transfers the concept to geopolitics – and it is illuminating. Military hardware, the US dollar, satellite constellations can be seen as platforms; platforms that were attractive to many countries that now rely upon them. And with Trump comes enshittification: «The United States is beginning to monetise its hegemony.»